Music of Cambodia

The music of Cambodia is derived from a mesh of cultural traditions dating back
to the ancient Khmer Empire, India, China and the original indigenous tribes
living in the area before the arrival of Indian and Chinese travellers. With the
rapid Westernization of popular music, Cambodian music has incorporated
elements from music around the word through globalization with the bountiful
world upholding the handsome. (Handsome that means to be impressive)
Music types:
Pinpeat
Pinpeat is a form of classical Cambodia music that has been around for the better
part of a thousand years. This type of music is characterized by a rich and
resonant tone as well as a strong rhythm, and it is still very much a part of
Cambodian culture today.
Mohori
In the realm of secular music, mohori music takes precedence. This kind of music
has more than 600 musical themes and there are still many hundreds more that
have been lost to time.
PlengKar
PlengKar is the music that this played at weddings and this ensemble is made up
seven instruments, with representation from the wing, string and percussive
instruments.

Folk and classical music

Cambodian Art music is highly influenced by ancient forms as well as Hindu
forms. Religious dancing, many of which depict stories and ancient myths, are
common in Cambodian Culture. Some dances are accompanied by a pinpeat
orchestra, which includes a ching (cymbal), roneat (bamboo xylophone), pai au
(flute), sralai (oboe), chapey (bass banjo), gong (bronze gong), tro (fiddle), and
various kinds of drums. Each movement the dancer makes refers to a specific
idea, including abstract concepts like today (pointing a finger upwards). The
1950s saw a revival in classical dance, led by Queen Sisowath Kossamak
Nearyrath.
Instruments
Traditional Cambodian musical instruments are the musical instruments used in
the traditional and classical music of Cambodia. They comprise a wide range of
wind, string, and percussion instruments, used by both the Khmer majority as
well as the nation's ethnic minorities.
Drums

Sampho - barrel drum, played with the hands

Skor (also spelled sko)
Skor thom - pair of large barrel drums, played with sticks
Thon - goblet-shaped drum, played with the handsphoto
Rumana - frame drum, played with the hands
Gong chimes
Kong vong toch (also called kong toch) - small gong circle
Kong vong thom (also called kong thom) - large gong circle
Keyboard
Roneat - trough-resonated keyboard percussion instrument; generally played
with two mallets and used in Khmer classical and theater music
Roneat ek - smaller xylophone
Roneat thung - larger xylophone
Roneat dek - smaller metallophone
Roneat thong larger metallophone; no longer used
Gongs
Kong vong - single suspended gong
Clappers
Krap - pair of flat bamboo or hardwood sticks
Cymbals
Ching - pair of small cymbals used to mark time
Chap - pair of flat cymbals
Woodblocks
Pan - woodblock
Nay pay - Pellow
Sindang - Small Size Woodblocks
Historical Perspectives
Cambodian music reflects both geographical and historical relationships to
neighboring cultures. The Indianization of Southeast Asia nearly 2,000 years ago

included the area that became Cambodia and deeply influenced lowland peoples,
especially the ruling elites. In later periods Chinese, French, Vietnamese, Cham
came as well, all leaving their mark. The early ocean port near the Mekong delta
known as Oc-Eo and called by later observers a "crossroad of the arts," was the
most likely point of infusion. The Cambodians absorbed diverse influences from
these peoples--language, concepts, writing systems, literature, religion, art
styles, and musical instruments. But the Cambodians absorbed and adopted
Indian, Chinese, European and other cultures to suit their own traditions and
tastes, resulting in a distinct Cambodian Culture.
Travelers from India offered the Cambodians languages, writing systems, the
concept of the god-king, literature, styles of art, especially sculpture, Hinduism
and Buddhism and their rituals, musical instruments, and likely the concept of
cyclical time.

History

Harp bas-relief

Drum bas-relief

In 1431, Angkor was looted by conquering Siamese armies, abandoned, and

overrun by vegetation. The Cambodian king and his court musicians fled.
Subsequently the capital was moved to Lungvek. Once again, in 1594 Lungvek
was sacked by the Siamese. Little is known of this period, the most obscure in
Cambodian history. This second eradication shocked and weakened the
Cambodians. After this humiliation of the Cambodian empire, music and its
functions were deeply affected, and a new style of melancholic and emotional
music is said to have emerged.
The period from 1796 to 1859 was the renaisssance for Cambodian music. King
Ang Duong, the greatest of the monarchs of this period, ascended the throne in
1841 in the capital of Oudong. Under his rule, Cambodian music and other art
forms were revived and began to flourish again.
For the Cambodians, the twentieth century has been a period of conservation,
preservation, and revival of traditional arts. The surviving art forms from the past

were carefully conserved under the watchful eyes of many traditional masters. At
the turn of the 20th century, there were some foreign influences on Cambodian
arts, which resulted in new art forms. Chinese theater is now presented in a
modified Cambodian form, called basakk. Islamic-influenced theater appears in
modified form, called yike by the Cambodians. As in the ealy period, we see the
modification of imported forms into Cambodian style. Costumes, languages,
performing styles, decor, song and music of both the Chinese and Muslim have
been greatly Cambodianized to suit local needs and tastes.
Music of Myanmar
The music of Burma (or Myanmar) has similarities with and is related to many
other musical traditions in the region, including Chinese music and Thai music.
Myanmar traditional music are based from the sounds made from instruments
grouped in the following five categories.
1) Kyee
Kyee or Bronze made instruments such as gongs.
2) Kyoo
Kyoo or String instruments such as Harp.
3) Tha Yey
Tha Yey or Hide instruments like drums.
4) Lei
Lei or Wind instruments such as Flute.
5) Let Khok
Let Khok or Clappers. such as the Bamboo clappers.
Traditional music
Traditional music from Burma is melodious, generally without harmony, and
usually in 4/4 time (na-yi-se) or 2/4 (wa-let-se) or 8/16 (wa-let-a-myan). There are
"the segments combined into patterns, combined into verses, combined into
songs [that] make Burmese music a multileveled hierarchical system...The
Burmese musician manipulates the various levels of the hierarchy to create the
song..."
Classical traditions
Orthodox Theravada Buddhism frowns upon music as being decadent. Despite
this cultural backdrop, the Burmese monarchy as well as the infusion of different
regional music styles, have created several classical traditions of Burmese music.
The oldest influences may perhaps come from China, which shares a similar
pentatonic musical scale as classical Burmese music. Other influences include

Mon music (called Talaing than or "sounds of the Talaing [Mon]"), particularly in
the Mahagita , the complete body of classical Burmese music.
A prevailing one is called Yodaya, which is essentially a class of Burmese
adaptations to songs accompanied with the saung gauk and come from the
Ayutthaya kingdom (modern-day Thailand) during the reigns of Bayinnaung
(15511581) and Hsinbyushin (17531776), which brought back a variety of
cultural traditions including the Ramayana. The primary indigenous form is called
thachin.
Burmese classical music ensembles can be divided into outdoor and indoor
ensembles. The outdoor musical ensemble is the sidaw ; also called sidawgyi,
which was an outdoor ensemble in royal courts used to mark important
ceremonial functions like the royal ploughing ceremony. It consists of a hnegyi, a
large double reed pipe and sidaw , a pair of ceremonial drums, as well as the si
and wa, a bell and clapper and the gandama, a double-headed drum. Today,
sidaw music is played at festivals. Other instruments used in classical music
include the saung (a harp) and pattala (a xylophone). The indoor form is the
chamber music ensemble, which is basically a female singer accompanied by a
traditional ensemble consisting of the saung , pattala , migyaung (a zither),
palwe (a flute) and in the past, included the tayaw (a fiddle) and hnyin (a small
mouth organ).
Maha Gita or classical music of myanmar
The complete body of Myanmar classical songs is usually referred to as. the
"Maha Gita." meaning great or royal song. The repertoire is also sometimes
referred to as "Thachin Gyi." or great songs. These were the songs of the royal
Myanmar courts and form the basis of Myanmar classical music. The Maha Gita
repertoire is pervasive in the performance of Myanmar music. It forms the basis
of shared tradition of the chamber music ensemble. the Hsaing ensemble. as
well as that of solo instrument performances such as the piano. The Maha Gita
also provides much of the basis for music in the theatre. both the puppet theatre
and that which employs live actors.
The Maha Gita exists in printed collections of the songs texts. There are no
traditional examples in notation. No system of notation exists in the Myanmar
tradition. During the 1960s. an adoption of the Chinese cipher notation system
was used for notation of the single melodic line. A few examples of the skeletal
structural patterns of the music have been printed in Myanmar. in Western
notation. from time to time since the 1940s.
Kyo Songs. Bwe Songs. Tachin Hkan
Kyo. Bwe and Tachin Hkan are thought to be the oldest parts of the repertoire
and contain a great number of songs.
Patt Pyou Songs

Patt Pyou is a song type that was very popular in the court and contains the
largest number of songs in the collection.
Loung Chin
Songs of longing
Lei Dwei Than Kat
A group of two special songs.
Myin Gin
Music to make the horses dance.
Nat Chin Nat Chin are songs from the repertoire of the worship and propitiation of
the 37 Nats. a native Myanmar religion which exists along side and in harmony
with Buddhism.
Yodaya Songs
Yodaya songs are those which were introduced from Ayuthia in Thailand as well
as songs which were later composed in that style.
Talaing Than
Talaing Than are songs of the Mon minority in Myanmar.
Bole
Bole are laments and songs of sorrow.
Here are some components of Myanmar Orchestra:
Circular series of drums (pat-lone)
Circular series of gongs (kyay-wai)
Gongs (mong-sai)
Bamboo clapper (war-let-kote)
Oboe/flute (hnae)
Timing bells (si)
Bamboo (warr)
Short drum (si-toe)
Cymbals (lin-gwin)
Six drum set (chauk-lone-pat)
Great drum (pat-ma-gyee)

Intruments
Musical instruments include the brass se (which is like a triangle), hne (a kind of
oboe) and bamboo wa, as well as the well-known saung, a boat-shaped harp.
Traditionally, instruments are classified into five classes, called pyissin turiya
Kyei - brass instruments
Thayyei - leather-covered drums
Kyo - string instruments
Lei - wind instruments
Letkhout - percussion instruments