Amazing Malaysian Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WATyE6ViMhQ&feature=player_embedded

Thai Music: External Influences

Actually, India and Persia were already having an influence on music in China by 126 B.C. China had a book on Indian music within 5 years prior to 642. Indian music also was having an impact in Java at least by the thirteenth century, so any instruments or music borrowed from there at that time may also have been affected by India. Not much is known about Malaysian history prior to the 15th century since little was recorded except that Hinduism was having a strong presence there obviously coming from India. China records contact with Malaysia at this time and up until 1824 it was predominantly under Thai control.

Thai Music: Instruments

The Thais had instruments of their own and some were from China such as the khim dulcimer,

malaw cymbal and klawng jin drum. The music of India had penetrated into the Mon (southern Burma) and Khmer (Cambodia) cultures previously. Later, the Thais also came in contact with Indian music. They successfully copied many of the Indian instruments. The Thai's also created their own instruments from this interaction, namely the phin, sang, pichanai, krachappi, chakhe and thon. These are mentioned in one of the oldest books to come out of Thailand called the Tribhunikuthai and also on a stone inscription called the sila-ja rerk created during the reign of king Ramkhamhaeng who was considered the father of the nation during the Sukhothai period 1283 A.D. (Sukhothai translates as Dawn of Happiness since they overthrew the Khmer rulers).
At this time they adopted some instruments such as the glawng khaek from java, the klawng malayu from Malaysia, the perng mang from the Mon people and the glawng yao from Burma.

My Bio IV

I have written more music than I can count, as well as published articles on music composition, aesthetics and ethnomusicology (http://www.paradisemoon.com/thai_main/Huahin/thai_instruments_intro.htm). My music combines melodic motives from jazz, rhythmic motives from the Middle East, India, Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bali,