Traditional Cambodian musical instruments


Traditional Cambodian musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical music 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

Flute

  • 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

  • Sneng - water buffalo or ox horn with a single free reed
  • Pey pok - free-reed pipe
  • Ploy - 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 - jaw harp made of bamboo or metal

    Quadruple Reed

  • Sralai - quadruple-reed oboe
  • *Sralai toch - small quadruple-reed oboe
  • *Sralai thom - large quadruple-reed oboe
  • Pey ar - oboe with cylindrical bore

    Horns

  • Saing - conch horn

    Other

  • Slek - tree leaf used as a wind instrument

    String

Bowed

  • 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 - lower two-string vertical fiddle with a coconut shell body, with face covered with calfskin or snakeskin; used in classical music

    Plucked

  • Chapei dong veng - plucked fretted lute
  • Kong ring - bamboo tube zither, can play thet drum's part
  • Krapeu - crocodile-shaped fretted floor zither with three strings
  • Kse diev or - chest-resonated stick zither)
  • Pin - Cambodian harp, ancient instrument reborn in modern times

    Struck

  • Khim - hammered dulcimer

    Percussion

Drums

  • Sampho - barrel drum, played with the hands
  • Skor - long skor drum
  • *Skor thom - pair of large barrel drums, played with sticks
  • *Skor yike - flat skor drum, played with hands and used in Yike dance drama
  • Thon, Skor daey and skor arak - goblet-shaped drums, played with the hands
  • Rumana - frame drum, played with the hands

    Gong chimes

  • Kong vong toch - small gong circle
  • Kong vong thom - large gong circle
  • Kong mon - small gong chime shaped curved

    Xylophone

- 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 or kong thom - single suspended gong

    Clappers

  • Krap - pair of flat bamboo or hardwood sticks

    Cymbals

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

    Woodblocks

  • Pan - woodblock
  • Nay pay - pellow
  • Sindang - small size woodblocks

    Occasions

Traditional Cambodian musical instruments play a significant role in the Cambodian culture. These instruments are typically used during royal events, weddings, and festivals. For weddings and royal events, the musicians playing the instruments would wear traditional Cambodian attire. Just like the Chinese, with regard to playing context, there is no conductor in traditional Cambodian music because musicians generally learned and memorized how to play the instruments aurally. These instruments provide a sense of identity for the Cambodian people.