A ''piphat'' () is a kind of ensemble in the

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of the Thai classical repertoire, including the Buddhist invocation entitled ''sathukan'' () as well as the suites called ''phleng rueang''. It is also used to accompany traditional Thai theatrical and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

forms including '' khon'' () (masked dance-drama), '' lakhon'' (classical dance), and shadow puppet theater. Piphat in the earlier time was called ''phinphat''. It is analogous to its Cambodian musical ensemble of pinpeat and Laotian ensemble of pinphat.

Types of ''piphat''

The smallest ''piphat'', called ''piphat khrueang ha'', is composed of six instruments: '' pi nai'' (oboe); ''

ranat ek The ''ranat ek'' (, , "also xylophone") is a Thai musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of 22 wooden bars suspended by cords over a boat-shaped trough resonator and struck by two mallets. It is used as a leading instrument in ...

'' (xylophone); '' khong wong yai'' (gong circle); '' taphon'' or other Thai drums; '' glong thad'', a set of two large barrel drums beaten with sticks; and ''

ching Ching may refer to: People * Ching, a unisex given name ** Ching He Huang, a food writer and TV chef ** Ching Hammill (1902–1925), American football player ** Ching Johnson (1898–1979), Canadian National Hockey League player ** Willis August ...

'' (small cymbals). Often other small percussion instruments such as ''krap'' or ''chap'' are used. A slightly larger ''piphat'' ensemble is called ''piphat khrueang khu'', and consists of eight musical instruments. The other two instruments are the ''

ranat thum The ''ranat thum'' (, ) is a low pitched xylophone used in the music of Thailand. It has 17 wooden bars, which are stretched over a boat-shaped trough resonator. Its shape looks like a ''ranat ek'', but it is lower and wider. It is usually playe ...

'' (xylophone), which produces a deeper sound than the ''ranat ek'', and '' khong wong lek'', a gong circle that is higher in pitch than the '' khong wong yai''. The largest form of ''piphat'' ensemble is the ''piphat khrueang yai'', which consists of ten musical instruments. Another ones are ''

ranat ek lek The ''ranat ek lek'' (, ) is a metallophone used in the classical music of Thailand. It is the smaller of the two sizes of Thai metallophone; the larger one is called '' ranat thum lek''. This musical instrument was originated in the reign o ...

'' and ''

ranat thum lek The ''ranat thum lek'' (, ) is a metallophone used in the classical music of Thailand. It is the larger of the two sizes of Thai metallophones; the smaller one is called ''ranat ek lek The ''ranat ek lek'' (, ) is a metallophone used in th ...

''; these are almost the same as their ancestors, the ''ranat ek'' and ''ranat thum'', but they have keys made from metal instead of wood.

Piphat khrueang ha

''Wong piphat khrueang ha'' (, ) is an ensemble consisting of: # 1 pi nai - bass oboe # 1 taphon - secondary beat # 1

- main beat # 1 khong wong yai - bass gongs hung in a nearly full circular track # 2 glong thad - Thai tympani # 1

- treble xylophone

Piphat khrueang khu

''Wong piphat khrueang khu'' (, ) is developed from ''piphat khrueang ha'', by arranging instruments in pairs of treble-bass. It consists of: # 1 pi nai - bass oboe # 1 pi nok - treble oboe # 1 taphon - secondary timekeeper # 1 glong songna or 2 glong khaek # 2 glong thad - Thai tympani # 1

- main timekeeper # 1 chap # 1 khong wong yai - bass gongs hung in semicircular track # 1 khong wong lek - treble version of gongs hung in semicircular track # 1 khong mong # 1

- treble xylophone # 1

- bass xylophone

Piphat khrueang yai

''Wong piphat khrueang yai'' (, ) is arranged by adding ''

'' (ระนาดเอกเหล็ก; treble metallophone) and ''

'' (ระนาดทุ้มเหล็ก; bass metallophone) to the ''wong piphat khrueang khu''.

Piphat nang hong

''Wong piphat nang hong'' (, ) is an ensemble used in funerals. It is arranged by replacing the ''pi nai'' and ''pi nok'' with a '' pi chawa''. The name ''nang hong'' comes from name of its main music, which is intended for funeral ceremonies. A royal variant for

Thai royal funeral Thai royal funerals are elaborate events, organised as royal ceremonies akin to state funerals. They are held for deceased members of the Thai royal family, royal family, and consist of numerous rituals which typically span several months to over ...

s, ''Wong piphat nang hong khruang yai'' (for the King) or ''Wong piphat nang hong khrueang khu'' (for senior members of the Royal Family), introduced during the reign of King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

(Rama VI) for use in royal funerals of the

Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...

, was reinstated during the reign of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

(Rama IX) in 1995, during the state funeral rites for Srinagarindra, the Princess Mother, upon the initiative of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Princess Royal, after years of absence. If playing for the king, the royal funeral ensemble has 10 to 12 instruments played, a few more than the simple ensemble, for senior members 8 to 9 instruments are used. In some funerals in Thailand the ''nang hong'' variant ensemble is supplemented by Western instruments like trumpets, saxophones, clarinets and even a drum kit, guitars and an electric piano. Some of these have also appeared in the normal ensembles.

Piphat duek dam ban

''Wong piphat duek dam ban'' (, , literally "ancient ensemble") was proposed by Prince Naris. It consists of: #1

#1 taphon #1

#1 khong wong yai #1

#1 taphon - "tympani" made by using two taphons arranged together. #1 saw u #1 khlui u - bass flute #1 khlui phiang aw - medium #1 wong khong chai - a set of 7 khong chai with different size hung on wooden bar.

Piphat mon

The ''piphat mon'' is believed to derive from the

Mon people The Mon (; Thai Mon: ဂကူမည်; , ; , ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and several areas in Thailand (mostly in Pathum Than ...

, an ancient

Mon-Khmer The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...

-speaking people of mainland Southeast Asia, and uses special instruments such as an upright gong circle called ''khong mon''. ''Wong piphat mon'' (, ) has three sizes:

Piphat mon khrueang ha

''Wong piphat mon khrueang ha'' (, ) consists of: #1

#1 pi mon - bass oboe with horn-shaped end. #1 khong mon wong yai - a set of bass gongs set in vertical frame (unlike khong wong yai, which gongs are set in horizontal semicircular frame). #1 poengmang khok (เปิงมางคอก) or ''khok poeng'' (คอกเปิง) - Mon drums set in cage-shaped frame. # ching, chap and khong mong

Piphat mon khrueang khu

''Wong piphat mon khrueang khu'' (, ) is arranged by adding ''

'' and '' khong mon wong lek'' to the ''piphat mon khrueang ha''.

Piphat mon khrueang yai

''Wong piphat mon khrueang yai'' (, ) is arranged by adding ''

'' and ''

'' to the ''piphat mon khrueang khu''. The ''piphat mon'' ensemble is usually used in funerals, but it can be used for other events as well. The ''piphat'' ensemble can be mixed with the '' khrueang sai'' ensemble to create a new ensemble called ''khrueang sai prasom piphat'' (เครื่องสายประสมปี่พาทย์ or เครื่องสายผสมปี่พาทย์). This hybrid or combined ensemble can also accommodate Western instruments as well.

Similar ensembles

The Cambodian equivalent of the ''piphat'' is called '' pinpeat''. The

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

equivalent to ''piphat'' is known as ''

hsaing waing The ''hsaing waing'' (, ; also spelt ''saing waing''), commonly dubbed the Burmese traditional orchestra (မြန်မာ့ဆိုင်း), is a traditional Burmese folk musical ensemble that accompanies numerous forms of rituals, performan ...

''. The instrumentation is very similar to the Piphat Mon, which indicates a common origin. Gong-chime ensembles are also found in other Southeast Asian nations, such as Gamelan in Indonesia, and Kulintang in the Philippines. Gong-chime ensembles can also be found in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, although they're no longer played among the ethnic Viet, they're still played among the indigenous peoples in the Space of gong culture, as well as among the

Muong people The Mường (Muong language, Mường Bi dialect: ''mõl Mường''; ) are an ethnic group native to northern Vietnam. The Mường is the country's third largest of 53 minority groups, with an estimated population of 1.45 million (according ...

and the

Thổ people The Thổ ethnic group (also Keo, Mon, Cuoi, Ho, Tay Poong) inhabits the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam, mainly Nghệ An Province southwest of Hanoi. Many Thổ speak the Cuoi language, Tho language, which is closely related to Vietnamese ...

References

External links

Listening

Pi Phat Ensemble page
from SEAsite

{{ThaiMusicalEnsembles Gong and chime music Music of Thailand Classical and art music traditions Articles containing video clips