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 travelers. With the rapid Westernization of popular music, Cambodian music has incorporated elements from music around the world through globalization.
The goblet drum is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is most commonly used in the traditional music of Egypt, where it is considered the national symbol of Egyptian Shaabi Music. The instrument is also featured in traditional music from West Asia, North Africa, South Asia, and Eastern Europe. The African djembe is also a goblet membranophone. This article focuses on the Middle Eastern and North African goblet drum.
The samphor is a small, 2-headed barrel drum indigenous to Cambodia, approximately .35 meter wide by .5 meter long. It has two heads, with one drumhead being larger than the other and is played with both hands. Depending on the ability of the musician, the samphor can make as many as 8 different pitches. The player of the sampho leads the pinpeat, setting the tempo and beat. It is also played at freestyle boxing evens, accompanying the sralai. The samphor is analogous to the taphon used in Thailand.
The Pinpeat is the largest Khmer traditional musical ensemble. It has performed the ceremonial music of the royal courts and temples of Cambodia since ancient times. The orchestra consists of approximately nine or ten instruments, mainly wind and percussion. It accompanies court dances, masked plays, shadow plays, and religious ceremonies. This ensemble is originated in Cambodia since before Angkorian era.
Yike is a prominent form of Cambodian musical theater, along with Bassac theater and Niyeai. "Lakhon Yike" incorporates singing and dancing and "an ensemble of both traditional and modern instruments."
Ching are finger cymbals played in Cambodian and Thai theater and dance ensembles.
Traditional Thai musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical music of Thailand. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments played by both the Thai majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.
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.
The thon and rammana are hand drums played as a pair in Thai classical music. It consists of two drums: the thon (โทน), a goblet drum with a ceramic or wooden body and the rammana (รำมะนา), a small rebana-typed frame drum or tambourine. They are used usually in the khruang sai ensemble. The thon gives a low pitch and the rammana gives a high pitch. Earlier in the 20th century, the thon and rammana were sometimes played separately.
Klong that are large barrel drums used in the classical music of Thailand. They are played with large wooden sticks. They are usually played in a pair and used in the piphat ensemble. Drums of this kind have also been called klong chatri (กลองชาตรี) and klong túk (กลอ8/p>
Klong yao, called Khawng yao in Laos, is a long drum used in Thailand and Laos. It is generally slung over the shoulder and played with the hands. It has a wooden body and a drumhead made from water buffalo skin, and is usually decorated with a colorful skirt. It is played in many festival parades in Thailand. Extremely large klong yao, which may be up to 10 m in length, are sometimes encountered in parades, where they are carried by truck.
The krap is a Southeast Asian musical instrument used in Cambodia and Thai for percussion.
A trống cơm, literally "rice drum", is a kind of traditional barrel-shaped Vietnamese drum, similar to the Chinese yaogu, and the Khmer skor sang na. It is used in the hát bội orchestra. Hát chèo also uses the drum in its repertoire.
The Skor thom are Cambodian 2-headed barrel drums played with a pair of wooden drumsticks. They typically have skin heads made from oxen, cows or buffalos, and are played in pairs. The drums are tuned such that one will give a "tighter and louder" sound when struck, while the other gives a "loose and more flatter tone." The log is hollowed out to form a thin tube, about 1 centimeter thick, and the hide is stretched out on each side to create the drum. Dimensions for the instruments vary, as they are carved from logs; however they can measure 50 centimetres long and be 46 centimetres in across at the center of the drum, with the ends being about 40 centimetres wide.
The skor daey is a short goblet drum from Cambodia, approximately 40 centimeters tall and 15 centimeters wide at the top. There are two common goblet drums there, the skor chhaiyam, a very long goblet drum, resembling some from Burma, and the skor daey.
The skor chhaiyam is a tall Cambodian goblet drum, slung over the shoulder with a string, so it can be played at waist level while walking. Only the top has skin, leaving a sound-hole at the bottom of a narrowed drum body. The instrument is used to "celebrate happy events."
The skor yike is a family of Cambodian frame drums used in Yike theater. There are as many as 13 different sizes, including the largest, the skor mei. In the Yike drama, the skor mei starts and ends the music.
The skor yeam also known as the skor pheary, skor chey and skor torb is a Cambodian bass drum, similar in shape to the skor samphor, but much larger. The drums are ancient in origin, used originally in war to "beat command signals" or gather soldiers together. In temples they are used to call Buddhists together or announce ceremonies. Where the samphor is hand-played, the skor yeam is played with a drumstick. The instrument is similar in size and shape to the Thai taphon mon.
The kong chmol is a Cambodian flat-faced gong, with different sizes and pitches, played in an ensemble, with players each playing one gong and responsible for one pitch, memorizing the music to play their pitch at appropriate times. Compared to the "feminine gong", kong nyee, the kong chmol is plain, lacking that gong's rounded center, called a "breast."
Mohaori is one of the traditional musical ensembles of Cambodia. This traditional ensemble is known in full name as Vung Phleng Mohaori (វង់ភ្លេងមហោរី), literally means Mohaori Musical Ensemble. It composed of many kinds of musical instruments, but today it is more specifically applied to a small ensemble of wind, stringed, and percussion musical instruments.
