Saw sam sai
Encyclopedia
The saw sam sai is a traditional bowed
string instrument
of Thailand
. Its body is made from a special type of coconut covered on one end with animal skin, and it has three silk strings. Typically, the player glues a jewel onto the skin before playing, to reduce the skin's resonance.photo
The saw sam sai is in the saw family of Thai fiddles, which also includes the saw u
and saw duang
.
It is the hardest to play among the 4 types of Thai Saw: saw u, saw duang, and salo. This is because the bow is not attached, and one must "break" their wrist back and forth to change strings- not tilting the bow. Because of this, it is frequently used as a prop in pictures to show knowledge or a high social status.
It is related to a very similar Cambodian instrument called tro Khmer
.
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Its body is made from a special type of coconut covered on one end with animal skin, and it has three silk strings. Typically, the player glues a jewel onto the skin before playing, to reduce the skin's resonance.photo
The saw sam sai is in the saw family of Thai fiddles, which also includes the saw u
Saw u
The saw u is a Thai bowed string instrument. It has a lower pitch than the saw duang and is the lowest sounding of the saw family. It has two strings and can produce 8 notes....
and saw duang
Saw duang
The saw duang is a bowed string instrument used in traditional Thai music. it has a higher pitch than a saw u. It has a hardwood soundbox covered on the playing end with python skin. It is held vertically and has two silk strings that are played with a bow. Like the saw u, the bow is between the...
.
It is the hardest to play among the 4 types of Thai Saw: saw u, saw duang, and salo. This is because the bow is not attached, and one must "break" their wrist back and forth to change strings- not tilting the bow. Because of this, it is frequently used as a prop in pictures to show knowledge or a high social status.
It is related to a very similar Cambodian instrument called tro Khmer
Tro Khmer
The tro Khmer is a traditional bowed string instrument from Cambodia. Its body is made from a special type of coconut covered on one end with animal skin, and it has three silk strings....
.