Musical Accompaniment for Nang Talung Performance of The Sith Soi Saeng Troup, Bang Pit Subdistrict, Laem Ngop District, Trat Province

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to 1) investigate the essential features of the shadow play performances of the Sith Soi Saeng troupe in Bang Pit subdistrict, Laem Ngop district, Trat Province; and 2) transcribe and analyze the musical accompanying of the shadow play performances of the Sith Soi Saeng troupe in Bang Pit subdistrict, Laem Ngop district, Trat province.          The results under those objectives found that 1) The Sith Soi Saeng troupe was founded by Mr. Khamnueng Soisaeng, who inherited the tradition from Mr. Pleuang Soisaeng, and still completely practice the performing rituals and components. 2) The musical accompaniment comprises of the Klong Kruk, Thon Thap, and Ching. Music transcription is resulted into four pieces in Western notation. Structurally, each piece followed a binary structure, and the vocal parts were extemporaneous, consisting of both syllabic and melismatic passages. The toneset were tetratonic, pentatonic, and hexatonic, and varied by song types. The lowest pitch was E⁴ while the highest pitch was E⁵. Melodic movement occurred in three patterns: static, ascending, and descending. All compositions used a 2/4 time signature, with tempos between 100–104 beats per minute, and featured five rhythmic patterns.