Abstracts

StubickeToplice
Croatia

13-17 April, 2011

at the invitation of

Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku

Rewadee Ungpho,
Thailand
tukta2520@yahoo.com

Pi Nai and Saw Sam Sai: the Special Instruments Imitating the Vocal Solo

Thai Classical Music can be divided into many characters. One character, named "Plang La", is used as an ending for musical performances. Plang La has a special part in it, which consists of the playing of instrumental music to imitate a vocal solo. This part is named "Dok" because it always starts with the word "Dok", meaning "flower". Two favorite songs with this style of Plang La containing the Dok part are "Plang Tao Kin Phak Boong" and "Plang Pra A-Thit Ching Duang".
The Pi Nai (reed instrument) and the Saw Sam Sai (three-stringed fiddle) are special instruments played after the vocal solo. The Pi Nai is used for a Piphat ensemble and the Saw Sam Sai is used for a string ensemble. Actually, other instruments are also used to imitate vocal singing, such as the Khlui (flute) and the Saw-U (two-stringed fiddle), but the two previously mentioned instruments are favorites and are most often used in each ensemble.
The body and characteristics of the Saw Sam Sai are noticeably different from the other Thai fiddles. While others have two strings, it has three. It also has a long spiked leg, and its jewel-inlaid skin reduces its resonance. Moreover, the Saw Sam Sai’s bow is not attached to its body as the other ones are. The player plays by stopping his/her wrist to change the strings, not having to tilt the bow, unlike playing the other fiddles. Because of this, the Saw Sam Sai is the representative fiddle used to show the high level of technique of a player.
Pi Nai is an important instrument in the Piphat ensemble and is the representative of the Thai aerophones in vocal song imitation because it can show a player’s ability to create 22 different pitches using various techniques. After the singing of "Dok", one important instrument in each ensemble will then demonstrate its capability to reproduce the sound of the singing done earlier.