Transmitting traditional Lanna music in the modern-day city of Chiang Mai

Abstract

To study the transmission of traditional Lanna music in Chiang Mai, the urban center of northern Thailand. The first objective of this thesis is to provide a detailed record of the various ways traditional Lanna music is being passed on in the city of Chiang Mai. The second objective is to analyze the relationship between these different types of transmission and the spectrum of traditional and adapted styles of Lanna music in Chiang Mai. These objectives are addressed in this thesis through qualitative research. Interviews, observations and document research provide most of the information in this thesis. By corroborating the various accounts, the author has been able to present historical background on traditional Lanna music culture in Chiang Mai, followed by a detailed record of the different ways traditional Lanna music is currently passed on in the city. In reference to the first objective, it was determined that the activities for transmitting traditional Lanna music in Chiang Mai are both diverse and widespread. In considering the second objective, a non-causal link was observed between the increased variety of transmission - using such modern means as technology and formal classroom instruction - and the recent expansion of musical styles derived from traditional Lanna music. The final analysis presented in this thesis shows that the range of activities that transmit traditional Lanna music in Chiang Mai today can be organized on two scales: from informal to formal transmission, and from deliberate to incidental. At present, the main factor blurring the distinction between formal and informal transmission is the system of withayakon (lit. expert, in this case a teacher or accomplished musician/ensemble); the principle agent responsible for breaking down the division between deliberate and incidental transmission is technology. This research concludes that the traditional Lanna music environment in modern-day Chiang Mai is a diverse, vibrant and natural expression of Chiang Mai society today. The diversification of three key types of historical transmission - mukhapatha (master-pupil rote instruction), khru phak lak jam (observation and imitation) and transmission through music at events - show the extension in modern times of the foundations of traditional Lanna music transmission in Chiang Mai. This confirms that artists and academics have successfully found ways to incorporate traditional Lanna music into the living music culture of modern-day Chiang Mai.