INNOVATION OF THAI MUSICAL INSTRUMENT “LOM RAI”

Abstract

          An innovation of a musical instrument is part of a doctoral dissertation with a scope of designing a new musical instrument. The new musical instrument was named after its sound production method which relies on the piston system. This new instrument is titled “Lom Rai.” The objective of this study is twofolded: (1) to investigate the body of knowledge in creating Thai Lom Rai musical instrument and (2) to create and design the Thai Lom Rai musical instrument. By employing qualitative research method, the researcher implemented unstructured interviews and participant observation. The Lom Rai was tested by eleven experts who played and evaluated the innovation of Thai wind instruments on five aspects regarding physical design, weight, musical characteristics, performance feasibility, and sound quality. The research findings reveal that wind and sound were generated by the piston system. The Lom Rai's pitch range covers four octaves. Thus, the newly designed instrument can be played and combined with a Thai string ensemble because it is tuned to Thai scale. A Lom rai player can produce more than 2 to 10 notes simultaneously. This instrument has a capacity to provide a channel to expand an innovative way of orchestrating Thai songs, composition of Thai songs in new styles, and the new combination of Lom ria in different kinds of ensembles.