Khaen Master

The Khaen Master, Somdy Luangnikone, is one of the few people to master both khaen making and playing to the highest levels. I had the good fortune to sit down for an interview with Somdy in Vientiane, Laos in December of 2005. During the interview, Somdy described how to make a khaen from beginning to end. I have long planned to make this interview into a short film so that the world can get to know the instrument, and this master maker and player, a little better. I hope you enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed getting to know Somdy and learning about his khaen making skills back in 2005. Thongsoey, former librarian at the National Library of Laos in the Traditional Manuscripts Room, was instrumental in setting up and running the interview. If you are interested in learning more about the khaen, how it is made and played, the second half of the book below is well worth reading. Though it’s focus is on the Lao in northeast Thailand, the concepts translate easily across the border into Laos. Terry E. Miller. Traditional Music of the Lao: Kaen Playing and Mawlum Singing in Northeast Thailand. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut. 1985.