Traditional Cambodian musical instruments

Close-up of the keys of a roneat (Khmer xylophone)

Traditional Cambodian musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Cambodia. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments, used by both the Khmer majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.

WoodWind

Flutes

• Khloy - vertical duct flute made of bamboo, hardwood, or plastic, with buzzing membrane
  • Khloy ek - smaller in size
  • Khloy thom - larger in size

Free-reed

• Sheng - water buffalo or ox horn with a single free reed^photo
• Pey pok - free-reed pipe^photo
• Ploy (also called m'baut) - mouth organ with gourd body and five to seven bamboo pipes; used by Mon-Khmer-speaking upland ethnic minorities
• Ken/Khaen - free-reed mouth organ used in northwestern Cambodia
• Angkuoch (also called kangkuoch) - jaw harp made of bamboo or metal

Kaois

• Sralai - quadruple-reed oboe
  • Sralai toch - small quadruple-reed oboe
  • Sralai thom - large quadruple-reed oboe
• Pey ar (also spelled beyaw, and also called bey prabauh) - oboe with cylindrical bore

Horns

• Saing - conch shell horn

Other

• Slek - tree leaf used as a wind instrument

String

Bowed

A pair of tro

• Tro - fiddle
  • Tro Khmer - three-string vertical spike fiddle with coconut shell body; used in classical music
  • Tro che - high-pitched two-string vertical fiddle, with face covered with snakeskin
  • Tro sau toch - two-string vertical fiddle with hardwood body; used in classical music
  • Tro sau thom - two-string vertical fiddle with hardwood body; used in classical music
  • Tro u (also spelled tro ou) - lower two-string vertical fiddle with a coconut shell body, with face covered with calfskin or snakeskin; used in classical music^photo

Plucked

A krapeu (takhe)

• Chapei dong veng (ចាប៉ីដងវែង) - plucked fretted lute
• Krapeu (also called takhe) - crocodile-shaped fretted floor zither with three strings
• Kse diev (also spelled se diev, and also called khse muoy) - chest-resonated stick zither)^photo

Struck

• Khim - hammered dulcimer

Percussion

Drums

A thon

• Sampho - barrel drum, played with the hands
• Skor ( (also spelled sko)
  • Skor thom - pair of large barrel drums, played with sticks
• Thon - goblet-shaped drum, played with the hands^photo
• Rumana - frame drum, played with the hands

Gong chimes

• Kong vong toch (also called kong toch) - small gong circle
• Kong vong thom (also called kong thom) - large gong circle

Keyboard

• Roneat - trough-resonated keyboard percussion instrument; generally played with two mallets and used in Khmer classical and theater music
  • Roneat ek - smaller xylophone
  • Roneat thung - larger xylophone
  • Roneat dek - smaller metallophone
  • Roneat thong larger metallophone; no longer used

Gongs

• Kong vong - single suspended gong

Clappers

• Krap - pair of flat bamboo or hardwood sticks

Cymbals

• Ching (ឈិង) - pair of small cymbals used to mark time
• Chap - pair of flat cymbals

Woodblocks

• Pan - woodblock
• Nay pay - Pellow
• Sindang - Small Size Woodblocks

External links

• The traditional music and instruments of Cambodia
• Khmer traditional music / Pich Ensemble

See also

• Music of Cambodia