Music of Southeast Asian

Lesson
Discover the music of our neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. Learn
how the people from these countries express their emotions through music and
arts
This lesson was designed and written for you to listen to different Southeast
Asian Music. You may also perform available instruments from Southeast Asia,
alone and/or with others.

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to familiarize yourself with the
different Southeast Asian Music, compare Southeast Asian Music in terms of
Melody, Rhythm and Tempo, and appreciate the different songs from Southeast
Asia.

Southeast Asian Music

Stories from religious texts—such as the Rāmāyaṇa, the

Mahābhārata, the Qurʾ ān, or the Bible—often became songs that were sung in either
the local or the imported language; these songs, in turn, popularized the new beliefs.
Some songs that blended the old and the new had particular powers; in Java, for
example, certain songs could be sung to stop heavy rains, tame crocodiles, or to
exorcise malevolent spirits. In Sumatra, a shaman trained in black-and-white magic
could use eleven different grades of song to entice and capture renegade tigers that
had trespassed onto human lands.
BURUNG KAKATUA
Burung Kakatua is traditional
Indonesian Folk Song. It comes from the
Ambon in the Moluccas, but has spread to
other parts of the Indonesian Archipelago and
beyond. Burung Kakatua is about a cockatoo
(kakatua) and the village grandmother who
listens to cockatoo singing.

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RASA SAYANG
Rasa Sayang, literally "loving feeling'' is a folk song in Malay language. It is
from Maluku, Indonesia, and popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines.
The basis of Rasa Sayang is similar to Dondang Sayang and other Malay folk
songs, which take their form from the pantun, a traditional ethnic Malay poetic
form.
Some people in Indonesia have claimed that the song originated in the Maluku
Islands, but such claims are disputed, as the standard Malay language itself
and the tradition of pantun exchange are unknown to the Maluku Islands.
Some of the Indonesians and Malaysians have once fought because of this.
However, in the end the Malaysian minister recognized the Rasa Sayang as an
Indonesian folk song.

Burung Kakatua (Bahasa Indonesia) The Cockatoo (English)

Burung kakatua The cockatoo
Hinggap di jendela Sits on the windowsill
Nenek sudah tua My grandmother is already old
Giginya tinggal dua And she only has two teeth
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Burung kakatua Burung kakatua

Giginya tinggal dua She only has two teeth left

Nenek sudah tua Grandma is already old
Hinggap di jendela She sits on the windowsill Like a
Seperti kakatua! cockatoo!

Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la

Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la Tredung, tredung, tredung tra la la
Burung kakatua Burung kakatua

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 Rasa Sayang I’ve Got That Loving Feeling
(Original) (Translated)

Rasa sayang, hey! Where cempedak tree grows without the

Rasa sayang sayang, hey! fence,
Hey, lihat nona jauh, Go prod them gently with a stake.
A youthful learner I, so hence,
Rasa sayang sayang, hey!
Be please to point out each mistake.
Buah cempedak di luar pagar,
The Pandan Isle is far from land,
Ambil galah tolong jolokkan;
Have three peaks does the
Saya budak baru belajar,
Daik Mountain.
Kalau salah tolong tunjukkan.
Though the self has rot in the sand, The good
Pulau pandan jauh ke tengah, deeds are never forgotten.
Gunung daik bercabang tiga;
Hancur badan di kandung tanah, Two or three cats are running around,
Budi yang baik dikenang juga. The cat with stripes is the one superior.
Two or three (gals) can be easily found,
But not the same as having you,
Dua tiga kucing berlari,
my dear.
Mana sama si kucing belang;
Dua tiga boleh ku cari,
With golden plantains sail away,
Mana sama adik seorang.
Whilst on a chest lies one that’s ripe;
The debts of gold we can repay,
Pisang emas dibawa berlayar,
But debts of kindness last through life.
Masak sebiji di atas peti;
Hutang emas boleh dibayar,
Hutang budi dibawa mati.

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 Musical Elements of Southeast Asia
Lesson I
This lesson was designed and written for you to analyze musical elements of
selected songs and instrumental pieces heard.
In this lesson the learners are expected to analyze the music of Southeast Asia,
appreciate examples of Southeast Asian music and describe how the musical
elements are used and sing an example of Southeast Asian song applying the
different musical elements. Music is an art form, and cultural activity, whose
medium is sound. Music includes common elements such as:
Element Description Basic related term

RHYTHM the element of "TIME" in music beat, meter, tempo,

syncopation
DYNAMICS All musical aspects relating to the forte, piano, [etc.],
relative loudness (or quietness) of music crescendo, decrescendo

MELODY the linear/horizontal presentation of pitch, theme, conjunct,

pitch. It is used to describe the disjunct
highness or lowness of a musical sound.

HARMONY the verticalization of pitch. Often, chord, progression,

harmony is thought of as the art of consonance, dissonance,
combining pitches into chord key, tonality, atonality

TONE "tone color" or timbre register, range,

COLOR instrumentation
TEXTURE the number of individual musical lines monophonic,
(melodies) and the relationship these homophonic,
lines have to one another polyphonic, imitation,
counterpoint

FORM combination of the musical elements binary, ternary, strophic,

through-composed

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 MUSIC OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
CAMBODIA
also known as Kampuchea
It was the center of the Khmer (Cambodian) Kingdom of Angkor, a great empire
that dominated Southeast Asia for 600 years.

VOCAL MUSIC
Cambodian court music – features choruses with large orchestras based on
struck keys and gongs
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Pinpeat – musical ensemble that usually accompanies ceremonial music of
the royal courts and temples.
-Instruments included in the ensemble:
1. oneat - xylophones (idiophone)
2. samphor - a double-headed drum played with
hands (membranophone)
3. kongvong - gong circles (idiophone)
4. skorthom - two big drums similar to Japanese
(membranophone)
5. chhing - finger cymbals

INDONESIA
- an archipelago in comprising approximately 17,500 islands
- World’s 4th most populous country with over 238 million people and also the 4th
biggest nation of the world.
There are two basic kind of Indonesian music scale used in their vocal and
instrumental music:
slendro – five (5) equidistant tones in octave pelog
– heptatonic (7) tone scale with semitone Irama –
Indonesian term for tempo

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VOCAL MUSIC
Pesindhen – female soloist singer who sings with a gamelan
Gerong – the unison male chorus that sings with the gamelan

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Gamelan – musical ensemble that contains instruments such as metallophones,
xylophones, kendang and gongs, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked
strings.
-Instruments included in the ensemble:
1. bonang - brass gongs (idiophone)
2. gender - metallic xylophone (idiophone)
3. saron - xylophone (idiophone)
4. gongs - suspended gongs (idiophone)
5. kendang - drum (membranophone)
6. kenong/ketuk - embossed gongs (idiophone)

THAILAND
• Formerly known as Siam, Thailand is known for being the sole nation in
Southeast Asia that has never been ruled by a Western power.
• Also known as “Muang Thai” which means “Land of the Free”.
• Music is theoretically based on the five-tone or seven-tone scale system. It
is not confined to the royal courts but also used extensively in dance, theater,
and in ceremonies.
VOCAL MUSIC
Songs of Thailand have inherently poetic lyrics which allow a singer or performer
to easily define the melodic lines.

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INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Piphat – a mid-sized orchestra that is performed in either outdoor style with hard
mallets or indoor style with padded mallets.
Khruang sai – an orchestra that combines some of the percussion and wind
instruments of the piphat with an expanded string section. This group is
primarily used for indoor performances and for the accompaniment of
stick-puppet theater.
Mahori – traditionally played by women in the courts of Central Thailand and
Cambodia. This ensemble is historically smaller.

VOCAL MUSIC
The music of Malaysia may be categorized into two types:
Classical and Folk music – emerged during the pre-colonial period and still exists in
the form of vocal, dance, and theatrical music.

Syncretic or Acculturated music developed during the post-Portuguese period (16th

century). It contains elements from both local music and foreign elements of Arabian,
Persian, Indian, Chinese, and Western musical and theatrical sources.

MALAYSIA
A constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia which is divided into two regions:
West Malaysia – also known as Peninsular Malaysia
East Malaysia – consists of 13 states and 3 federal territories. Chinese and
Indian cultural influences made their mark when trade began in the
country. Trading also increased when immigrants flocked to Malaysia.
Multiracial groups that influenced Malaysia’s genre include – Malay, Chinese, Indian,
Iban, Dayak, Kadazandusun, Eurasians.
VOCAL MUSIC
The music of Malaysia may be categorized into two types:
• Classical and Folk music – emerged during the pre-colonial period and still exists
in the form of vocal, dance, and theatrical music.

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• Syncretic or Acculturated music developed during the post-Portuguese period
(16th century). It contains elements from both local music and foreign elements of
Arabian, Persian, Indian, Chinese, and Western musical and theatrical sources.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
- Musical instruments of Malaysia are greatly associated with their culture and
roots. Due to colonization, the stages of development of Malaysian instruments
are great. They share some common features with Indian musical instruments.
After the colonization of Malaysia by the British, the musical development was
influenced by Western music.
Musical Ensembles and Types of Performances in Malaysia

1. Agung and Kulintang

2. - gong-based musical ensemble commonly used in funerals and weddings in East
Malaysia. This type of ensemble is similar to the Kulintang of the Philippines,
Brunei, and Indonesia.

2. Kertok
- a musical ensemble from the Malay Peninsula that consists of xylophones played
swiftly and rhythmically in traditional Malay function.

3. Dikir Barat
-a musical form that is important to Malaysia’s national culture. It is performed by
singing in groups and often in a competitive manner usually with percussion
instrumental accompaniment or sometimes without instruments at all.

4. Silat Melayu
-a form of martial art that is similar to tái chi. It originated in the Malay Peninsula
since the Christian era and is a mixture of martial arts, dance, and music usually
accompanied by gongs, drums, and Indian oboes.

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 Musical Instruments
Lesson
This lesson was designed and written for you to explore ways of producing
sounds on a variety of sources that would simulate instruments being studied.
In this lesson the learners are expected to identify the different musical ensembles
of Southeast Asia, appreciate the sounds of the different instruments from selected
countries of Southeast Asia, and play a simple melody using the available
instruments from Southeast Asia.

Music of Southeast Asia: Musical Instruments

The music of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia is almost identical. The
musical instruments and forms of this region spring from the same
sources: India, the indigenous Mon-Khmer civilizations, China, and
Indonesia. In Thailand, three types of orchestras, called piphat, kruang sai,
and mahori, exist. The piphat, which plays for court ceremonies and
theatrical presentations, uses melodic percussion (gongs in a circle,
xylophones, metallophones) and a blown reed.
Cambodia is one of the most beautiful countries in Southeast Asia. It is also
known as Kâmpŭchéa. It was the center of the Khmer (Cambodian) kingdom of
Angkor, a great empire that dominated Southeast Asia for 600 years. Their music
gained a world-wide reputation in the 1960s until the dramatic political problems in
Cambodia.
Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia comprising approximately 17,500
islands. With over 238 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous
country and is the fourth biggest nation of the world. Through interaction with other
cultures such as Indian, Arabic, Chinese and European, a wide range of musical
styles has been developed.
Malaysian music is largely based around percussion instruments. It has
multi-cultural influence and is believed to have originated in the Kelantan-Pattani
region with a mixture of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian influences.

Musical Instruments in Cambodia

Pinpeat is a Cambodian musical ensemble or an orchestra that usually
accompanies ceremonial music of the royal courts and temples. Music is always
part of their court dances, masked plays, shadow plays, and
religious ceremonies. This group is similar to the Piphat ensemble of Thailand and
usually consists of nine or ten instruments.

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Musical Instruments of Indonesia
Gamelan or Gamelan orchestra is the most popular form of music in Indonesia. There
are many types of Gamelan but the famous Javanese and Balinese Gamelan are
the most famous. It contains a variety of instruments such as metallophones,
xylophones, kendang and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings.
Javanese gamelan - used for court music, percussion dominated, style of playing
gives solemn character.
Balinese gamelan - used for sacred music, consist of metallophone and mostly
gongs, sudden change of tempo and dynamics are the basic characteristic,
sounds are very bright and brilliant, use of fast and rattling sounds of cymbals
makes distinctive characters

Pinpeat Cambodian Musical Ensemble

Gamelan or Gamelan Orchestra

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 Musical Instrument of Thailand

Music is theoretically based on the five-tone or seven-tone scale system. It is not

only confined to the royal courts but is also used extensively in dance, theatre, and in
ceremonies.
Thailand has three primary instrumental ensembles that are similar to the other
ensembles in Southeast Asia.
Piphat - It is a mid-sized orchestra that is performed in either outdoor style with
hard mallets or indoor style with padded mallets. This ensemble has different
types but the highly ornate one is traditionally associated with funerals and
cremation ceremonies.
Khrueang Sai – It is an orchestra that combines some of the percussion and wind
instruments of the Piphat with an expanded string section. This group is
primarily used for indoor performances and for the accompaniment of
stick-puppet theater.
Mahori – This ensemble is traditionally played by women in the courts of Central
Thailand and Cambodia. Because of this, instruments for this ensemble are
historically smaller. However, regular-sized instruments are used today. A
vocalist performing with the Mahori is usually accompanied by the so sam sai.
Musical Instruments of Malaysia
Malaysian music is largely based around percussion instruments. It has
multi-cultural influence and is believed to have originated in the Kelantan-Pattani
region with a mixture of Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian influences.
Musical ensembles and types of performances in Malaysia:
1. Agung and Kulintang— This is a gong-based musical ensemble commonly used in
funerals and weddings in East Malaysia. This type of ensemble is similar to the
kulintang of the Philippines, Brunei, and Indonesia.
2. Kertok - This is a musical ensemble from the Malay Peninsula that consists of
xylophones played swiftly and rhythmically in traditional Malay functions.
3. Dikir Barat— This is a type of musical form that is important to Malaysia’s
national culture. It is performed by singing in groups and often in a competitive
manner usually with percussion instrumental accompaniment or sometimes
without instruments at all.
4. Silat Melayu— This is a form of martial art that is similar to t’ai chi. It originated in
the Malay Peninsula since the Christian Era and is a mixture of martial arts,
dance, and music usually accompanied by gongs, drums, and Indian oboes.

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 D
Learning Task 1: Try to guess the classification of the instruments below. Write
I if the instrument is idiophone; C for chordophone; A for aerophone and M for
membranophone.

1. ____________________________ 2. ________________________

3. ____________________________ 4. ____________________

5._____________________________ 6. _______________________

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8. ____________________________ 9. ____________________________

9. ____________________________ 10. ________________________

Music of Myanmar
Lesson I
This lesson was designed and written for you to explore ways of
producing sounds on a variety of sources that would simulate instruments being
studied. In this lesson you are expected to classify the instruments of Myanmar
using Hornbostel Sachs Classification, explore locally available instruments
somehow similar to Myanmar Music and gather images of the instruments from
a variety of sources and turn it into a collage by using indigenous materials. The
music of Burma - now officially known as Myanmar - is close in spirit to those of
the Southeast Asian civilizations of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
The Indian influence is less perceptible here than in the nation's mythology
and religious beliefs, or than in such other arts as the shadow-theatre and
dance-drama.

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 Myanmar’s musical practice, in which the notes are identified in
descending order, resembles that of other Southeast Asian countries: the octave
is divided, theoretically, into seven equal intervals. Whatever mode is used to
play a melody, the structure of the scale remains the same.
The music of Myanmar shares many similarities with other musical styles in
the region. Traditional music is melodic, having its own unique form of
harmony, often composed with a 4/4 (na-yi-se), a 2/4 (wa-let-se) or a 8/16
(wa-let-a-myan) time signature. Harmony in Mahagita (the Burmese body of
music) is known as twe-lone.

Classification of Instruments
Traditionally, instruments are classified into five classes, called pyissinturiya:
Kyei - brass instruments
Thayyei - leather-covered drums
Kyo - string instruments
Lei - wind instruments
Letkhout - percussion instruments
Hsaing Waing—The Hsaing Waing is Myanmar’s traditional folk music
ensemble. It is made up mainly of different gongs and drums as well as other
instruments depending on the nature of the performance.

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 Myanmar’s musical instruments are categorized into 2 types, the loud sounding
and soft sounding. The loud sounding instruments are performed in open-air
ensembles at ceremonies and festivals. Most of the Hsaing Waing instruments
belong to the loud sounding category.

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 The Hsaing Waing Ensemble

The Hsaing Waing is Myanmar’s traditional folk music ensemble. It is made up

mainly of different gongs and drums as well as other instruments depending on the
nature of the performance.
Myanmar’s musical instruments are categorized into 2 types, the loud sounding
and soft sounding. The loud sounding instruments are performed in open-air
ensembles at ceremonies and festivals. Most of the Hsaing Waing instruments
belong to the loud sounding category.
Hsaing waing musicians use a hemitonic and anhemitonic scale similar to the one
used by Indonesian gamelan musicians. The ensemble's principal instruments,
including the pat waing, kyi waing, and hne, each play variations on a single melody
(heterophony).

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 For more formal and classical performances that are performed indoors, the
ensemble may be accompanied by the saung gauk the national instrument of
Myanmar (13-string angular harp with soft sound), the pattala (Myanmar
xylophone), or the piano and violin, both introduced during colonial rule.
The body of the saung gauk is made of padauk, the famous Myanmar mahogany,
the flat bar is made of cutch wood, it is covered with the leather of a female deer and
the strings are made of silk.

The complete list of musical instruments under Hsaing Waing are the following:

1. Pat waing - a set of 18 to 21 drums in a circle with a range of more than 3

octaves. This instrument has been adapted into the Thai piphat mon
ensemble, where it is called poeng mang.

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2. Hne - double reed oboe. 3. Maung hsaing - a 4. Wa letkhot-
gong chime made of "bamboo clapper")
larger bronze gongs in
a rectangular frame.

5. Si - bell 6. Kyi waing - small bronze gongs in a circular

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 7. Chauk lon pat - a
6. Wa - wooden set of eight tuned
clappers drums.

10. Pat ma gyi - a big

9. Sakhun - a double drum suspended from
headed drum on a a pole frame depicting
stand
frame.

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Learning Task1: Since immemorial, countries in Southeast Asia have already started
producing a variety of musical instruments that are unique, stunning, and
impressive. Classify the Southeast Asian instruments below using Hornbostel Sachs
Classification (Chordophone, Aerophone, Membranophone, Idiophone, Electrophone).

1. ____________ 6. ____________

2. _____________ 7. _____________

3. _____________ 8. _____________

4. _____________

9. _____________

5. _____________ 10. _____________

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 Performance Task 1
Directions: Using the Southeast Asian instrument as your reference, make a project
plan for your improvised musical instrument. Use your intermediate paper and follow
the format below as your guide.

My Improvised Musical Instrument

Objectives: To improvise ______________

(name of Southeast instrument)

Possible materials:

Draw your possible output

Procedure:
(Write the step-by-step
procedure)