LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
is dominated by the
LaoThe Lao are an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia. The vast majority of Lao people live in Laos .-Names:...
but includes minorities of
HmongThe terms Mong and Hmong refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southeast Asia. Hmong are also one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu population in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to...
,
MienMień is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brańsk, within Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Brańsk, west of Bielsk Podlaski, and south-west of the regional capital Białystok....
, Kmhmu, among many others. The most distinctive Lao
musical instrumentA musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making the sounds of music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginnings of human culture...
is a
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
mouth organA mouth organ is any of several types of musical instruments played by blowing air through a pipe or tube, generally consisting of multiple tubes connected together...
called a
kheneThe khene is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. It is also played in some parts...
. The instrument was supposedly invented by a woman trying to imitate the calls of the garawek
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
. The woman took the new instrument to her king, and he told her it was fair, but that he wanted more. She modified the instrument and he replied "Tia nee khaen dee" (
this time it was better).
Lao folk musicTraditional Lao music can be divided into classical and folk forms.-Khene:Khene is what makes Lao people which the Lao people makes the khene...
, known as
Lam-Lam:*A part of the phrase "on the lam"*Mor lam, an ancient Lao form of song in Laos-LAM:*Lactational amenorrhea method, a contraceptive method*Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - National airline of Mozambique*LAM, an internet slang acronym meaning "leave a message"...
, is extemporaneous singing accompanied by the khene.
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
is dominated by the
LaoThe Lao are an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia. The vast majority of Lao people live in Laos .-Names:...
but includes minorities of
HmongThe terms Mong and Hmong refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southeast Asia. Hmong are also one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu population in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to...
,
MienMień is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brańsk, within Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Brańsk, west of Bielsk Podlaski, and south-west of the regional capital Białystok....
, Kmhmu, among many others. The most distinctive Lao
musical instrumentA musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making the sounds of music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginnings of human culture...
is a
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
mouth organA mouth organ is any of several types of musical instruments played by blowing air through a pipe or tube, generally consisting of multiple tubes connected together...
called a
kheneThe khene is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. It is also played in some parts...
. The instrument was supposedly invented by a woman trying to imitate the calls of the garawek
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
. The woman took the new instrument to her king, and he told her it was fair, but that he wanted more. She modified the instrument and he replied "Tia nee khaen dee" (
this time it was better).
Lao music
Lao folk musicTraditional Lao music can be divided into classical and folk forms.-Khene:Khene is what makes Lao people which the Lao people makes the khene...
, known as
Lam-Lam:*A part of the phrase "on the lam"*Mor lam, an ancient Lao form of song in Laos-LAM:*Lactational amenorrhea method, a contraceptive method*Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - National airline of Mozambique*LAM, an internet slang acronym meaning "leave a message"...
, is extemporaneous singing accompanied by the khene. The Lao classical orchestra can be divided into two categories, Sep Nyai (or
MahoriThe mahori is a form of Thai and Cambodian classical ensemble which was traditionally played by women in the courts of both Central Thailand and Cambodia...
) and Sep Noi. The Sep Nyai is ceremonial and formal music and includes: two sets of gongs (kong vong), a xylophone (
lanatRanat may refer to:*Ranat , a traditional Thai musical instrument*The Ranat, a race in Star Wars...
), an oboe (
peiPi is the generic term for any of a variety of quadruple reed oboes used in the traditional music of Thailand. It is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Cambodian sralai.-Varieties:*Pi chawa *Pi klang...
or salai), two large kettle drums and two sets of cymbals (xing).
Mor lam
Ensembles typically include two singers (
mor lam, the same term referring to the genre of music) - one male and one female -, a khene player (
mor khaen), and other instruments including
fiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, including the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
s,
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s and
bellA bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s. Music varies widely across Laos, with the lam saravane style being most popular, while the city of
Luang PrabangLuang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , Xieng Dong Xieng Thong, is a city located in north central Laos, on the Mekong River about 425 km north of Vientiane, and the capital of Louangphrabang Province. The current population of the city is about 103,000.The city was formerly the capital of a...
is known for a slow form called
khaplam waiKhaplam wai is a form of music originating in Laos, popular in the city of Luang Prabang. It has been described as slow, calm and serene....
. An extremely popular form developed in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
is called
mor lam singMor lam sing is a fast-paced, racy, modernized version of the traditional Lao/Isan song form mor lam. Sing comes from the English word "racing" . A lead singer is accompanied by the khaen, a bamboo mouth organ, Western drums ,electric guitar, and electric keyboards and bass...
, and is faster and electrified.
Popular music
In the 1960s, Thai lam nu and
lam ploenLam ploen is a genre of Laotian music, deriving from Iser theater traditions. Since the 1960s and 1970s, lam ploen became increasingly more successful as a popular song genre, divorced from the theater and with the influence of luk thung singing styles.-References:*Terry E. Miller, "Laos,...
contributed to the development of
lam luangLam Luang is a musical genre developed in recent centuries in Laos. Today Thai music, it combines with singing and story-telling, improvisation, action and dance....
, which is a form of loose song and dance, often with narrative lyrics.
kor la pai gon der hello to all
External links