Kudi Chin Suite

Abstract

The creation research project on the academic works of arts, “Kudi Chin Suite” is a set of musical compositions consisting of 3 suites: 1^stKudi Chin Suite for flexible ensembles, 2^ndKudi Chin Suite 2 for brass quintet, and 3^rdKudi Chin Suite for saxophone quartet. The objectives are 1) to study the history and background of the community’s way of life and to study the techniques of composing music for wind ensembles, brass quintet, and saxophone quartet; 2) to create musical compositions in the formats of wind ensembles, brass quintet, and saxophone quartet; and 3) to disseminate creative musical compositions by educational institutions with greater participation in the community.

The research methodology consisted of 1) studying the history, beliefs, culture, traditions, ethnicity, way of life, and sounds of the Kudi Chin community by taking the concepts gained from the study and creating them into melodies. 2) studying the methods of composing and arranging music for flexible wind ensemble, brass quintet, and saxophone quartet. 3) determining the structure of the suite and the concept for creating melodies and designing the overall musical characteristics from of the music and determining the proportion of the numbers of music. The Kudi Chin Suite music set has a total of 17 songs. 4) creating the parts of sound, melody, and rhythm, and considering the suitability of each musical instrument. 5) adjusting and editing the composition and considering various details of the composition as appropriate. 6) broadcasting the live performance at Kasetsart University, and 7) broadcasting by printing music in books with a master audio flash drive.

The research results found that the composition of the song “Kudi Chin Suite” has a composition structure as a musical composition in the form of a set song, consisting of 17 movements, approximately 80 minutes. This composition is a creation of a new melody, consisting of concepts of the location, the Chao Phraya River, the atmosphere of the community, local desserts, the way of life of the people in the community from the past to the present, beliefs, rituals, and religious multiculturalism that are the identity of the Kudi Chin community to design of the music allows people in the community to access music and allows youth in the area to participate in the performance harmoniously. The use of the community’s location as a space for music performances, the composition of the Kudi Chin Suite uses Western music composition techniques, including melodies, tone colors, various rhythms, techniques of music instruments, and the development of motif.

The Kudi Chin Suite is another option, which is the performers can choose to use the music in each set to play properly and for every occasion. Because the suite is diverse in culture, there are many ethnicities, traditions, and beliefs of the people in the community. Therefore, the music in the Kudi Chin Suite is with unique characteristics, which are different and are suitable for use in playing in the community conveniently, especially small ensemble such as a brass quintet and a saxophone quartet for 4 voices that can be played anywhere. Even in a small community can be played appropriately.

From the creation of the Kudi Chin Suite, each section in the set reflects the diversity of multiculturalism in the community. In addition, the type of ensemble can choose the music to play according to as per requirement and facilitates the skills of the performers. For example, the 1^stKudi Chin Suite for the Flexible Ensemble is suitable for performers, who are in beginner level. It is necessary to use the technique of selecting the right voicing line for the musical instruments to make the music beautiful, consistent with the meaning of the Flexible Ensemble music by Joseph F. Glaeser, who explained that the Flexible Ensemble music is a form of music that relies on a small number of performers and an ensemble with a few percussion instruments. Normally, the Flexible Ensemble has 4-6 voicing lines. Each voicing responds to the playing of a non-fixed musical instrument or other musical instruments can play any voicing line. The 2^nd & 3^rdKudi Chin Suite are suitable for performers who want to use specific playing techniques and musical instruments. The characteristics of the movements in the suites there are a different color from the music for the Flexible Ensemble. More Challenging the abilities of the performers. However, the 3 sets of Kudi Chin Suite are beneficial for use in small to large ensemble. They can be used in communities with limited space, and accommodate the limitations of the types of musical instruments that each band has, allowing these sets of songs to be used in a wider variety of bands.