Ensembles- Thailand

The first known Thai ensemble was khap mai which was a drum, a fiddle, and a singer. The drum is now obsolete in Thailand. Another ensemble was mahori which was a string ensemble, thought to have originated in Cambodia, that consisted of two string players, a drummer, and a singer. The ensemble changed over time with different instruments adding in. It is now one of the three contemporary music ensembles, however mahori is now a combination of both string and percussion instruments. The other two contemporary ensembles are pi phat (melodic and rhythmic percussion instruments with a wind instrument) and khruang sai (stringed instruments and rhythmic percussion with flutes). These ensembles perform for formal occasions.

Pi Phat

Pi phat ensembles used to be used for accompanying stage performances. For masked drama (khon), the ensemble needed to play long passages so instruments that could play the melody were used more. The name "pi phat" comes from the "pi" double reeded instrument that is used to play the melody. "Phat" means "instrumental music" (14).

Here is a video of a pi phat ensemble (15):

This is a small ensemble with five instruments: xylophone, kettle gong circle, drum, small cymbals, and the pi. There are also other sized pi phat ensembles: medium/doubled and large (they contain more instruments as well as more kinds of instruments) 

Here is a larger pi phat ensemble (16): 

In the larger pi phat ensemble, one can see more gongs as well as metallophones being used compared to the small ensemble. This type of instrumentation is similar to that of an Indonesian gamelan ensemble. This is unsurprising since these instruments and ensemble could have spread to Thailand. One of the Thai drums, the klong khaek, came from Java. However, Thailand has made this type of melodic and rhythmical percussion ensemble their own by adding their native instrument, the pi. 

Khruang Sai

Khruang sai is an ensemble of stringed instruments, rhythmic percussion instruments, and a Thai vertical flute called the khlui. It is used to accompany Thai stick-puppet theater (influenced by Chinese puppetry), singing, and dances. It is also played on holidays. As with pi phat, khruang sai ensembles can be different sizes and contain a different variety of instruments (17). 

Here is a video of a medium khruang sai ensemble (18):

In this video, a singer is present and the ensemble backs her up. The ensemble's melody is carried by the string instruments (zither, spike fiddle) as well as the vertical flute. Percussion is present as a membranophone as well as some hand drums. Contrary to the pi phat ensemble, string instruments, not percussion, are the main focus.

Mahori

The mahori ensemble is a combination of the pi phat and khruang sai ensembles in that it features a combination of stringed instruments, melodic and rhythmic percussion instruments, and flutes (14).

Here is a video of a mahori ensemble (19):

The melody now is present in both the stringed instruments and vertical flute (like khruang sai) as well as the melodic percussive instruments such as the xylophone (like pi phat).