Prachan : Music, Competition, and Conceptual Fighting in Thai Culture

Lekakul, Great Prachan : Music, Competition, and Conceptual Fighting in Thai Culture /. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26516 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. 1 Prachan: Music, Competition, and Conceptual Fighting in Thai Culture Great Lekakul Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2017 Department of Music SOAS, University of London 2 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ____________________________ Date: _________________ 3 Abstract This thesis is an examination of the traditional Thai music competition ‘prachan’, mainly the prachan piiphaat seephaa which is the major arena of competition in traditional Thai music. The research focuses on the concept and process of prachan piiphaat seephaa with its changes and development in modern society and its reflection of Thai music and culture. The thesis reveals the function and characteristics of prachan, which are predicated in the concept of musical interaction and response with the role of ‘conceptual fighting’ cooperating with symbolic cultural meaning as ‘musical conflict’. The conceptual fighting approach clarifies the way in which the musicians respond to and overcome each other through their musical ideas in competition. This competition involves a range of musical and extra musical network. Four interactive approaches - interactive collaboration, conceptualisation, audience, and environments - reveal in depth the prachan framework. The process of prachan rehearsals and music lessons with the involvement of mythology reveals the musicians’ perceptions of the prachan concept and process and the musicians’ way of life. Exploring prachan in modern Thai society shows the changes in and development of contemporary prachan. It illustrates how the musicians’ relationships have been transformed in terms of music schools and institutions; how the present musical format of prachan piiphaat seephaa has contracted from the standard one; the changes and trends in prachan through the concept, form, hua phleeng and haang phleeng pieces, as well as the high-speed performance and the application of the klong khaek drums in competitions. The changes in music technology and media have had an enormous effect on both the prachan process and musicians’ and audiences’ perceptions of prachan. Reflecting upon prachan in Thai music and culture shows that prachan and conceptual fighting are part of the cultural construction representing a culture of ‘spontaneous response and fighting’ as conflict in Thai music and society and in people’s everyday lives. Prachan plays a significant part in the development process and creativity of Thai music and society through four paradigms. The concept of the contraction of time and space describes the relationships between prachan and culture in modern Thai society. 4 Table of Contents List of Figures 6 Orthography, Conventions, and Anonymisation 10 Acknowledgements 11 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 What is Prachan? 14 Previous Work 17 Historical Dimension 22 Theoretical Framework 30 Music Competitions and their Relevance to Culture 41 Outline of the Thesis 44 Chapter 2: Performing the Prachan 47 Initial Plan and Subsequent Changes to the Fieldwork 50 Fieldwork 50 Prachan Wat Phra Phireen 51 Prachan Wat Sriprawat 78 Prachan Ngaan Loy Krathong Ratchaburi 87 Prachan 11th Piiphaat Seephaa-tii-Wang Naa 95 Conclusion 108 Chapter 3: Conceptual Fighting and Conflict 110 Conceptual Fighting and Musical Battles 112 Symbolic Cultural Meaning and Musical Response 121 Audience Response and Conflict 131 Musical Interaction and Response and the Power of Music 134 Musical Interaction and Response 134 No Such Thing as Music? 140 Conclusion 142 Chapter 4: Prachan Rehearsals, Music Lessons and Mythology 143 Rehearsals for Prachan 144 The Sit-Reungnond Ensemble 144 The Kamlai ensemble 153 Music Lessons 168 5 Mythology 177 Conclusion 187 Chapter 5: Prachan in the Modern World 189 Changes in Relationships 192 Changes and Trends in Forms and Formats 200 Standard and Contracted Form of Prachan 201 Modification and Trends in the New Age of Prachan 219 Changes in Mediation 235 Prachan and Amplification 236 Media and Prachan 246 Conclusion 257 Chapter 6: Reflections on Prachan in Thai Music and Culture 259 The Culture of Spontaneous Response and Fighting 260 Prachan as a Development Process and Creativity of Thai Music and Society 271 Change in Prachan as Society Changes? 287 Conclusion 295 Chapter 7: Conclusion: Music, Conflict, and Creativity 296 New Directions of the Research 302 Appendixes 304 Appendix I: Glossary of Thai Terms 305 Appendix II: Video Recordings Accompanying this Thesis 309 Bibliography 312 6 List of Figures Page Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Wat Phra Phireen, a prestigious Buddhist temple that is used for 52 the prachan piiphaat seephaa in Thai society Figure 2.2 The Prachan at Wat Phra Phireen 2012 57 Figure 2.3 Yo, a ranaat eek player from the Kamlai ensemble, shows parts 66 of a Kraao Nai solo piece, in the course of the Tayoe Yuan piece, with the performing method ‘yown klade’ in the prachan at Wat Phra Phireen 2012 Figure 2.4 The Sit-Reungnond ensemble, led by Khruu Boonsrang Reungnond 70 Figure 2.5 The Saue Banlengsin ensemble, led by Khruu Prasit Intaraphiphat 70 Figure 2.6 The Kunchaun Duriya ensemble performing a set of fighting 86 pieces in the haang phleeng after performing the Tayoe Yuan piece, in response to the performance by the Ang Thong College of Dramatic Arts ensemble during the prachan at Wat Sriprawat Figure 2.7 Khruu Boonsang Reungnond and his pupils waiting for a boat 88 to take them to the floating raft on the Maeklong river for the prachan at the Ngaan Loy-Krathong Ratchaburi festival 2012 Figure 2.8 Khruu Boonsang Reungnond (Sit-Reungnond ensemble) and 88 Khruu Saman Gaewlaeiat (Thai Banlaeng ensemble) negotiating about the prachan before the competition began Figure 2.9 Khruu Boonsrang watching the performance of the Thai Banlaeng 92 ensemble during the prachan at the Ngaan Loy Krathong Ratchaburi festival 2012 Figure 2.10 Khruu Boonsang telling his pupils about a musical strategy to 92 respond to the Thai Banlaeng during the prachan 7 Figure 2.11 Prachan ‘11th Piiphaat Seephaa-tii-Wang Naa’ 2013, the Fine Arts 104 Department of Thailand ensemble showing their musical proficiency before the eyes of other official institutions Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 An example of the haang phleeng in phma (Burmese) dialect, 124 played by the Thai Banlaeng ensemble Figure 3.2 The Choet Khaek piece in the khaek (Indian) dialect in the haang- 125 phleeng, played by the Sit-Reuangnond ensemble Figure 3.3 The Ram Dab piece in the haang phleeng, performed by the 126 Kunchaun Duriya ensemble Figure 3.4 An example of the Kraao Ram piece in the haang phleeng, performed 127 by the Kunchaun Duriya ensemble Figure 3.5 An example of the Kraao Nai solo piece in the haang phleeng by the 129 ranaat eek from the Sornmechai Ruengroung ensemble (prachan at Wat Phra Phireen 2012) Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 A rehearsal of the Sit-Reungnond ensemble for a prachan event. 147 Khruu Boonsang Reungnond (in a white tank top on the left) is orchestrating his ensemble and giving some guidance to his students Figure 4.2 The Kamlai ensemble rehearsing in Phma Hae piece. Chaiyuth 156 Tosa-nga (in the brown shirt on the left) orchestrating his ensemble by playing the ching (a pair of small cymbals) and giving some guidelines for his pupils’ performance Figure 4.3 Suphot and Ngo, two professional Thai drummers, showing their 158 improvisation technique on the klong khaek drums, the ‘saai’, in the modern style 8 Figure 4.4 A comparison between the distinctive features of the prachan 161 of the Sit-Reungnond and the Kamlai ensembles regarding their teaching/learning systems, relationships, style of rehearsing and performance, and their views towards prachan Figure 4.5 The comparison between the Sit-Reungnond’s and the Kamlai’s 162 musical strategies in prachan Figure 4.6 My music teacher Khruu Chaiya Thangmisi, a piiphaat specialist 169 from the Fine Arts Department of Thailand Figure 4.7 An example of a seephaa music lesson, which represents the 175 elements of the teaching/learning process Figure 4.8 Illustrating the core elements and supporting elements of a music 176 lesson and their relationship Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 Comparison between the prachan standard format (1923) and 207 the examples of prachan formats from four prachan events in Bangkok and rural areas in 2012- 2013 Figure 5.2 Contraction of the prachan format from the standard (1923) to 210 the contemporary format (2012-13) Figure 5.3 Contracted form of the prachan format of ngaan prachan piiphaat 213 naa phratiinang (prachan piiphaat competition in front of the throne event) in 1985 from the standard format (1923) Figure 5.4 The contraction of the prachan format 215 Figure 5.5 The development of the prachan concept from the standard to 225 the contemporary format (probkai, tayoe and diaw) showing the expansion of choices of prachan pieces in each repertoire Figure 5.6 An example of the thao form with probkai and ching rhythmic 226 cycles in Thai notation.

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