The Traditional Music of Thailand

Infants' and adults' perception of scale structure.

“…In fact, the pentatonic scale that was evident—Steps 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the equal-step scale (Morton, 1976)—is structurally comparable to the most common pentatonic scale formed from the chromatic pitch set (Lerdahl & Jackendoff, 1983).…”

“…If equal-step scales provide inherently unsuitable material for melodies, then why would any culture develop music based on such scales? The strongest claims about the role of equal-step scales have been made in relation to the music of Thailand (Montri Tramote, cited in Morton, 1976; Myers-Moro, 1993), where the hypothesized scale corresponds to a division of the octave into seven equal steps, essentially the equal-step scale used in the present research and that of Shepard and Jordan (1984; Jordan and Shepard (1987). Nonetheless, Morton's (1976) extensive analysis of compositions from the traditional Thai repertoire led him to reject the equal-step scale as the basis of Thai melodies.…”

“…Scales, which are music theorists' conception of the pitch materials of existing musical compositions, fail to reveal critical information about pitch relations or the unfolding of pitches over time (Butler & Brown, 1994, p. 195). Indeed, the interval formed by the first and fifth scale steps, which approximates a 3:2 ratio in equal-step and major scales, seems to have special significance in Thai music (Morton, 1976), as it does in Western music and in other music of the world (Schellenberg & Trehub, 1994b; Trehub, Schellenberg, & Hill, 1997). The status of the equal-step scale in Thai music may well be comparable to that of the chromatic scale in Western music, which divides the octave into 12 equal steps and appeared some centuries after the emergence of Western tonal music.…”

A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat Ek Instruments

“…The instruments in musical ensembles in the two countries are very similar to each other (Sumrongthong & Sorrell, 2000;Kanchanapradit & Meesawat, 2008;T. E. Miller, 1992;Morton, Duriyanga, 1976;Hughes, 1992).…”

“…Thailand has the Pi Phat Ensemble, which is traditional music consisting of the instruments of Ranat Ek (main xylophone), Ranat Ek tum (xylophone), Khong Wong lek (small bonang), Khong Wong Yai (big bonang), gongs, drums (gendang), krui Piang oa (flute), rak khang (bell), kim, and ching (Thatsanabanjong, 2020;Attakitmongcol k., chinvetkitvanit R., 2004;Jeeranai et al, 2017;Garzoli & Binson, 2018;Morton, David;Duriyanga, 1976). While Central Java has traditional music, namely Gambang Semarang which consists of the instruments of Gambang, Bonang, Gong, Kendang, flute, Sukong, konghayan, kecrek (Septemuryantoro, 2020;Utama & Puguh, 2013;Puguh, 2000;Raharjo et al, 2021;Raharjo & Arsih, 2019;Utama & Puguh, 2013;Sadtiti, 2016).…”