THAILAND
INSTRUMENTS
(Source:
http://www.asza.com/inaw.shtml)
Naw
or Hulusheng
[Country:
Thailand/China]
Found in Southern China and in the mountains of northern Southeast
Asia, the "naw" or "hulusheng" (literally
meaning gourd "sheng") is perhaps one of the oldest
members of the "sheng" family. It is played by a number
of the hill tribes or minority people of the region including
the "Yi", "Lahu" and "Lisu" peoples.
It has five pipes in a circular cluster, whose open ends appear
flush with the bottom of the gourd wind chamber. It allows the
player to make the notes tremble (called tremolo technique) by
slowly covering the ends of the pipes with the right thumb while
playing. The technique to play this instrument is difficult, but
the music heard is very lively and quite loud. Traditionally this
instrument also played a coded language used by unmarried people
to talk with.
Ata
[Country:
Thailand]
 "Ata"
are bamboo jaw harps of the "Lahu" people of Southern
China, and northern South East Asia. They are played in pairs
and are attached to each other by a common string that also attaches
the harps to their bamboo carrying case. "Ata" are primarily
used for courting and are found in two different tunings, a fourth
and a fifth apart, each with a different function. Instruments
tuned a fifth apart are used for more intimate conversations between
young people and are taken up after the young people have used
the "naw" or "hulusheng" mouth organ to get
acquainted. Instruments
tuned a fourth apart are used by older people to rekindle the
feelings of youth, or for divorced or widowed people to attract
to new mate. The higher pitched "ata" of the pair is
considered a female instrument and the lower one a male. When
played together, a musical code is used to communicate with each
note corresponding to a spoken syllable. Unfortunately, like elsewhere
in the world, these practices are disappearing and now these instruments
are made mostly for tourists and are found in abundance in the
markets of Chiang Mai in Thailand. This instrument was collected
in Chiang Mai region in 1984.
Pi
Joom, Pi So, or Pi Chum
[Country:
Thailand]
The "pi joom", "pi so",
or "pi chum" is a single free reed pipe with finger
holes similar to the Chinese "bawu". It is commonly
played as an ensemble of four "pi joom" of varying lengths
in Northern Thailand, yet there are versions also played by the
"Poothai" people of Northeast Thailand. The "pi
joom" differs from the Chinese bawu in that the player must
put the whole end of the instrument in their mouth at an oblique
angle to cover the reed. Until only recently the "pi joom"
was almost extinct, but thanks to the efforts of the traditional
music programs in the Chiang Mai music academies, many instruments
from the region are enjoying a revival. "Pi joom" are
similar in construction to the "dja mblai" of Vietnam.
*AJI
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