“ Khen ” redirects here. For early uses, see Khen ( disambiguation ) A khene player in Isan The khene ( ; spelled “ Can ” in English ; Lao : ແຄນ ; Thai : แคน, RTGS : khaen, pronounced [ kʰɛ̄ːn ] ; Khmer : គែន – Ken ; vietnamese : khèn ) is a Lao mouth organ whose pipes, which are normally made of bamboo, are connected with a modest, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air out is blown. The khene is the national legal document of Laos. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The khene music is an integral part of Lao life that promotes syndicate and social cohesion [ 3 ] and it was inscribed in 2017 on the UNESCO Representative List of the intangible cultural Heritage of Humanity . [ 4 ] Today associated with the Lao people of Laos and Isan ( Northeast Thailand ), early similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age. In Cambodia, it is used among the ethnic Lao population of the province of Stung Treng and is used in lakhon ken, a cambodian dance play genre that features the khene as the premier legal document. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] In Vietnam, this instrument is used among the Tai peoples and the Muong people. The most interesting feature of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the eighteenth century from the chinese sheng, a relate musical instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia. The khene has five unlike lai, or pentatonic modes with specific drone pitches, organized into two families ( thang san and thang yao ). The thang san family includes lai sutsanaen ( G A C D E ), lai po sai ( C D F G A ), and lai soi ( D E G A B ), while the thang yao kin includes lai yai ( A C D E G ) and lai noi ( D F G A C ). Lai po sai is considered to be the oldest of the modes and lai sutsanaen the “ Father of the Lai Khaen. “ [ citation needed ] Khene can be played as a solo instrumental role ( dio khene ), as separate of an ensemble ( such as wong pong lang and khene wong ), or as an complement to a Lao or Isan solo singer mor lam. It is much played in combination with a traditional eat into plucked lute called phin.

Composers who have written notate music for the instrument include Annea Lockwood, Christopher Adler, David Loeb, Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Christopher Burns, Jinhee Han, H. James Harkins, Jeff Herriott, Vera Ivanova, Hal Walker, and Yu Kuwabara .

Tuning [edit ]

The khene has seven tones per octave, with intervals exchangeable to that of the Western diatonic natural A-minor scale : A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. A khene can be made in a finical winder but can not be tuned after the reed is set and the pipes are cut .

Varieties [edit ]

The khene comes in several varieties :

  • Khaen hok (แคนหก, hok meaning “six”) – small khaen with 12 pipes in two rows of 6; usually used by children or beginners, or sold to tourists
  • Khaen jet (แคนเจ็ด, jet meaning “seven”) – medium-sized khaen with 14 pipes in two rows of 7
  • Khaen paet (แคนแปด, paet meaning “eight”) – medium-sized khaen with 16 pipes in two rows of 8; the most commonly used variety
  • Khaen gao (แคนเก้า, gao meaning “nine”) – khaen with 18 pipes in two rows of 9; usually very long
  • Khaen sip (แคนสิบ, sip meaning “ten”) – an “improved” version of the khaen paet; little used

Players [edit ]

Khene In the United States, the top master khaen artist is a blind Laotian-born Bounseung Synanonh. Master Synanonh started playing the khaen at old age twelve and late lost his eye view at historic period 15. Master Synanonh immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee in the early 1980s. [ 7 ] In 1987, he performed for President Reagan at the White House. He besides recorded with the World Music Institute under the steering of Terry Miller, a world-renowned ethnomusicologist. In 2007, he performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. [ 8 ] In Thailand, one of the top ace khaen soloists is the blind musician Sombat Simla. The instrument has besides attracted a few non-Asian performers, including University of San Diego professor Christopher Adler, who besides composes for the instrumental role ; English musician Clive Bell ( UK ) ; Vancouver-based composer/performer Randy Raine-Reusch ( Canada ), who played khaen on Aerosmith ‘s Pump ( 1989 ), Cranberries ‘ To the Faithful Departed ( 1996 ), and Yes ‘s The Ladder ( 1999 ) ; and Jaron Lanier ( United States ). Since the early twenty-first century, the California-born khaen actor Jonny Olsen has achieved casualness in Laos and Thailand by appearing on numerous Thai and Lao television receiver Shows and performing be concerts in Thailand and the U.S. Olsen is the foremost foreigner to win a khaen backing in Khon Kaen, Thailand in 2005. Stephen Molyneux ( United States ) has played the khaen on his releases The Arbitrary State ( 2010 ), The Stars Are the Light Show ( 2012 ), Wings and Circles ( 2016 ), and in choice live performances. Molyneux bought a khaen in Bangkok in 2010 after developing an sake in the instrument while traveling in Laos and Thailand .

See besides [edit ]

Notes [edit ]

bibliography [edit ]

  • Miller, Terry E. Traditional Music of the Lao: Kaen Playing and Mawlum Singing in Northeast Thailand (1985). Contributions in Intercultural and Comparative Studies, no. 13. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
  • Miller, Terry E. An Introduction to Playing the Kaen (1980). Kent, Ohio: Terry E. Miller.
  • Lilly, Joseph An Introduction to the Khaen of Laos:The Free-Reed Journal Articles and Essays Featuring Classical Free-Reed Instruments and Performers

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