Wind instruments:
the Khuy and Khaen (Khene)
Stringed instruments:
the So I and the So O
Percussion instruments:
Nang-Nat (Rang-Nat) and the Khong-Vong
The Khene can
create several notes simultaneously. It is made of several
bamboo pipes of vary lengths. The pipes are arranged in a
decreasing sizeand are connected by two half gourds held in position
by wax - this forms the cavity for the air and aperture for the
mouthpiece.
An interesting note
is that the Khene is the predecessor to other wind instruments
later found in Europe, China and Thailand. How? Because
the Chinese borrowed the idea of the Khene from Laos.
The Chinese later came into contact with Europeans. By the
1800s the Europeans, with the idea from Asia, created instruments
such as the harmonica, accordian, and others, based on the Khene.
Thai people, along with other Asian cultures, also borrowed the
Khene from Laos. The Khene is often described as Laos'
national instrument.
The Khuy is a
bamboo flute. It is similar to other Western flutes.
It creates wonderfully seemless sounds. The So instruments
are two stringed violins with a long neck of carved wood and a sound-box.
The Rang-Nat is a xylophone type instrument. Its keys
are made with vary thickness and lengths to create different sounds.
They are arranged in a circular fashion. Lastly the Kong-Vong
is made of sixteen cymbals that are also arranged in a circular
fashion. Sounds are created by striking the keys with mallets.
