Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Like their Malay-Indonesian counterparts, Thai shadow puppets represent an ar-
ray of characters from classical and folk drama, principally the
Ramakian
and
Phra
Aphaimani.
A single puppetmaster manipulates the cut-outs, which are bound to the
ends of buffalo-horn handles. Shadow puppets still occasionally appear at temple
festivals in the south. Performances are also held periodically for tour groups or vis-
iting dignitaries from Bangkok.
Music
Classical Thai music features a dazzling ar-
ray of textures and subtleties, hair-raising
tempos and pastoral melodies. The classical
orchestra is called the
Ъèe pâht
and can in-
clude as few as five players or more than 20.
Among the more common instruments is the
Ъèe,
a woodwind instrument that has a reed
mouthpiece; it is heard prominently at Thai-
boxing matches. The
rá·nâht èhk,
a bamboo-
keyed percussion instrument resembling the
xylophone, carries the main melodies. The
slender
sor,
a bowed instrument with a
coconut-shell soundbox, is sometimes played
solo by street buskers.
If you take a cab in Bangkok, you're likely
to hear Thailand's version of country music:
lôok tûng
(literally 'children of the fields'). Lost
love, tragic early death and the plight of the
hard-working farmers are popular themes
sung plaintively over a melancholy accompaniment. More upbeat is
mŏr lam,
a folk
tradition from the rural northeast that has been electrified with a fast-paced beat.
Step into a shopping mall or a Thai disco and you'll hear the bouncy tunes of Thai
pop (also dubbed 'T-pop'), a favourite with teens. The ageing hippies from the
protest era of the 1970s and 1980s pioneered
pleng pêu·a chee·wít
(songs for life),
which feature in the increasingly hard-to-find Thai country bars. The 1990s gave
birth to an alternative pop scene - known as 'indie'. The band Modern Dog is the
genre's surviving pioneer.
Traditional Theatre &
Dance in Bangkok
1 CHALERMKRUNG ROYAL
THEATRE (
CLICK HERE
)
