The Composition for the Pi Nai in the Thang Ot Musical Characteristic Accompanying the Khon: Tha-yoi Sok Suite

Abstract

This research article aims to examine the musical characteristics of the pi nai realisation in the tha-yoi song’s category, leading to a brand-new realisation for the pi nai (Thai oboe) titled Tha-yoi Sok Suite accompanying the khon (Thai masked dance-drama). Qualitative research methods are used by collecting data from documents, interviews with experts, data synthesis, and composing the musical suite.

The formative structure showed the characteristics of phleng tha-yoi under the song mai rhythmic pattern form arraying the yon feature in song chan metric level. It has been found that one musical sentence is equal to one unit of the song mai rhythmic pattern. The melodic structure included the nua and yon, manifesting the sorrowful feeling of the khon actor who was performing the sad walking action with grief. The song is performed by the pi phat mai khaeng ensemble with an addition of the so u (alto two-string fiddle); the pi nai has played a key role, particularly in expressing the sadness of the actor through music with a collaborative rhythmic instrument, including the ching (a pair of small cup cymbals) and the taphon (a double-headed drum).

The composition principles of Tha-yoi Sok Suite include 1) the methods of Thai classical music composition of the nathap song mai or song mai rhythmic pattern under the song chan metric level, 2) the use of core melody and destination note in the tha-yoi song categories as a framework of composing the pi nai realisation, 3) the ot musical style of the solo version to make a new musical path accompanying the khon, 4) the use of special musical techniques of the pi nai to express sad feeling corresponded to the actor’s performance, and 5) the use of siang hap (high notes) as a skeleton musical feature to create the musical version.