Sralai

{{Short description|Cambodian musical instrument}} thumb|Two sralai instruments. At left the srali thom (thom means big). At right the srali touch or toch (touch means small). [[File:Sralai player - Siem Reap.jpg|thumb|Sralai player showing his instrument, Siem Reap, 2024]]

The '''''sralai''''' ({{langx|km|ស្រឡៃ}}) is a Cambodian wind instrument that uses a quadruple reed to produce sound.<ref name=sam>{{cite web |url= https://www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/sralai.htm|title=Sralai "oboe" |last=Sam |first=Sam-Ang |website= umbc.edu |access-date= 17 November 2018|quote=...wind instrument in the Pinn Peat ensemble. Its quadruple reed is made of palm leaf, and its body has a slightly conical bore...}}</ref> The instrument is used in the ''pinpeat'' orchestra, where it is the only wind instrument.<ref name=sam/> The set of quadruple reeds are made of palm leaf.<ref name=sam/> The bore of the instrument is not evenly bored, but "slightly conical."<ref name=sam/><ref>Katherine Brisbane, Ravi Chaturvedi, Ramendu Majumdar, Chua Soo Pong, and Minoru Tanokura; eds. (2005). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dveJAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22quadruple+reed+instrument%22&pg=PT235 The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Volume 5: Asia/Pacific]'', unpaginated. Routledge. {{ISBN|9781134929771}}.</ref><ref>André de Quadros; ed. (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=u1AJAQAAMAAJ&q=%22quadruple+reed+instrument%22 Many seeds, different flowers: the music education legacy of Carl Orff]'', p.43. "Four little tongues (reeds) of dried palm leaf are fastened to a brass tube with thread, and the reeds are placed completely in the mouth, with the tongue place under the reeds to control the opening." CIRCME. {{ISBN|9781740520010}}.</ref> Its cousin, the Western oboe, has a double reed and a conical bore. The pinpeat instruments tune to the sralai's pitch, and the player must learn circular breathing to play continuously without stopping for breath.<ref name=sam/> The ''sralai'' is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Thai ''pi''.

==See also== *Shehnai quadruple-reed instrument used throughout the Indian subcontinent

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120421040602/http://www.culture.go.th/research/musical/music/central/mp3/pi.mp3 Sound sample of the Thai equivalent (the pi).] *[http://www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/sralai.htm Sralai "oboe" page] from Cambodian with Dr. Sam-Ang Sam, ''Ethnomusicology OnLine'' *[http://www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/audio/sralai1.mp3 Sralai audio]

Category:Cambodian musical instruments Category:Quadruple-reed instruments