A khene player in Isan

The khene (also spelled "khaen", "kaen" and "khen"; Lao: ແຄນ, Thai: แคน) is a mouth organ of Lao origin whose pipes are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao of Laos and Northeast Thailand, similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. The Chinese adopted mouth organs at an early point, and the now-obsolete yu may have been similar in construction to the modern khaen. The Chinese today call their most widely used mouth organ sheng. khene player wearing sarong and pakama at the Ubon Candle Festival; picture taken by User: Markalexander100 summer 2004; File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... khene player wearing sarong and pakama at the Ubon Candle Festival; picture taken by User: Markalexander100 summer 2004; File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For other uses, see Isan (disambiguation). ... A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument where sound is produced as air passes a reed in a chamber, causing the reed to vibrate. ... Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand Pak Isan (also written as Isaan, Issan, or Esarn; Thai/Isan อีสาน) is the northeast region of Thailand. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The yu (竽; pinyin: yú) was a free reed wind instrument used in ancient China. ... The Chinese sheng (Chinese: 笙, Pinyin shēng) is a mouth-blown free reed instrument (the first) consisting essentially of vertical tubes, in the Chinese orchestra. ...

The most interesting characteristic 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 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia. ... This article is about the musical instrument. ... Wheatstone English concertina, circa 1920 This article is about the musical instrument. ... For other uses, see Accordion (disambiguation). ... A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. ... The bandone n is a free-reed instrument instrument particularly popular in Argentina. ... The Chinese sheng (Chinese: 笙, Pinyin shēng) is a mouth-blown free reed instrument (the first) consisting essentially of vertical tubes, in the Chinese orchestra. ...

The khene uses a pentatonic scale in one of two modes (thang sun and thang yao), each mode having three possible keys. The khaen has five different lai, or modes: Lai Yai, Lai Noi, Lai Sootsanaen, Lai Po Sai, and Lai Soi. Lai Po Sai is considered to be the oldest of the Lai Khaen. Khaen can be played as a solo instrument(Dio Khaen), as part of an ensemble(Ponglang), or as an accompaniment to a Lao or Isan Folk Opera Singer mor lam. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave as compared to the major scale which is made up of seven distinct notes. ... A khene player in Isan Mor lam (Thai/Isan: หมอลำ) is an ancient Lao form of song in Laos and Isan (Northeastern Thailand). ...

Mythological origin

According to Lao legend, the khene was created by a woman who was trying to reproduce the sound of the garawek bird which she heard while on a walk one day. The journey was long and difficult, so she decided to invent an instrument that would bring the sound to her. When she returned to her village, she experimented with many different instruments, including percussion, wind and plucked and bowed strings. Finally she cut a piece of bamboo and inserted a reed into it. Upon playing it, she realized that it sounded much like the garawek bird. She continued to improve the sound until she felt it was worthy for the king's ears. When she was ready, she went to the palace and began playing for the king on her newly invented instrument, which was at this point nameless. At the end of the first song, she asked the king if he liked the piece. He said it was fair, and instructed her to continue playing. After her last song, she again asked the king if he was pleased. His reply was "Tia nee kaen dae," which means "This time it was better." He then instructed her to call the instrument, according to his words, the kaen.^{[citation needed]}

Players

In Thailand, one of the top virtuoso khaen soloists is the blind musician Sombat Simla. The instrument has also attracted a few non-Asian performers, including University of San Diego professor Christopher Adler, who also composes for the instrument; 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 21st century, the California-born khaen player Jonny Olsen has achieved notoriety in Laos and Thailand by appearing on numerous Thai and Lao TV Shows and performing live concerts in Thailand and the U.S. Jonny Olsen is the first farang (foreigner) to win a khaen championship in Khon Kaen 2005.[1] The University of San Diego, frequently referred to as USD, is a Catholic university in San Diego, California. ... Randy Raine-Reusch is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer specializing in wind and string instruments from around the world, particularly those from East and Southeast Asia. ... Pump is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music). ... To the Faithful Departed (TTFD) is an album released by The Cranberries in 1996. ... The Ladder is an album by progressive rock band Yes and was released in 1999. ... Jaron Lanier Jaron Lanier (born 1960) is a virtual reality developer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Tuning

It has seven tones per octave, with intervals similar to that of the Western diatonic natural A-minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

References

• Khaen Repertories: The Developments of Lao Traditional Music in Northeast Thailand Accessed 13 May 2005.
• 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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External links

• Khaen Baet and Khaen Hok

Listening

• Audio samples
• Traditional Music and Songs in Laos: The Voice of the Lao Khen
• Art of the States: khaen Three contemporary American works featuring the instrument
• Dan Singer plays traditional Irish music on the khene