The ''chakhe'' (, , also spelled ''jakhe'' or ''ja-khe''; , ), or ''krapeu'' (; also called ''takhe'' , ''takhe'', ''takkhe'' or ''charakhe''), is a fretted floor

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

with three strings used in Thai and Khmer music. The Thai and the Khmer versions of the instrument are virtually identical. It is made of

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

in a stylized

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

shape, approximately 20 cm high and 130–132 cm long. The "head" portion is 52 cm long, 28 cm wide and 9–12 cm deep; the "tail" portion 81 cm long and 11.5 cm wide. It has eleven ''(chakhe)'' or twelve ''(krapeu)'' raised

fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical inst ...

s made of bamboo, ivory, bone, or wood, graduated between 2 and 3.5 cm in height, which are affixed to the

fretboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...

with wax or glue. Its highest two strings are made of silk yarn,

catgut Catgut (also known as gut) is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines. Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines, but occasionally use the intestines of cattle, hogs, horses, mules, ...

, or nylon, while the lowest is made of metal. They are tuned C–G–c. The instrument is usually supported by three or five legs. The player, sitting beside the instrument, uses their left hand on the fretboard while plucking the string with their right hand using a 5- to 6-cm long, tapered

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

made from ivory, bone, or

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

horn, which is tied to the player's index finger, and bracing it with the thumb and index finger. The instrument produces a buzzing sound because the strings are raised slightly off the flat bridge by a sliver of bamboo or other thin material such as plastic. In Thai music, the ''chakhe'' is part of the Mahori ensemble; in Khmer music, the ''krapeu'' is part of the equivalent Mohori. Among the Khmer classical instruments, the ''takhe'' is probably the most recently introduced; it is assumed to be adopted from Thai music. It is used for wedding music, ''A-yai'', and ''Chapei'' music, as well as modern music. The name ''chakhe'' is derived from ''chorakhe'' (), meaning "crocodile". The word ''krapeu'' means "

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

" or "

" in the

Khmer language Khmer ( ; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken natively by the Khmer people. This language is an official language and national language of Cambodia. The language is also widely spoken by Khmer people i ...

, as well. ''Chakhe'' and ''krapeu'' are also related to the

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

/ Mon ''

mi gyaung The ''mi gyaung'' ( ) or ''kyam'' (, ; pronounced "chyam") is a crocodile-shaped fretted, plucked zither with three strings that is used as a traditional instrument in Burma. It is associated with the Mon people. Both Burmese and Mon names also ...

'' ''(kyam)'', which has realistic zoological features and not just the abstract form of a crocodile. More distantly, they are also related to the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.

References

External links

Sound sample''Jakhe'' page
Cambodian musical instruments Thai musical instruments Box zithers {{Lute-stub

See also

References

External links