เพลงโคราช

Pleng Korat, a form of folk tradition of the Thai Korat, is considered an alternate song between male and female that requires a great deal of singers' ability, knowledge, resourcefulness as well as wisdom. Its unique words and rhythm reflect very distinctly the culture of the Thai Korat. In this thesis, the researcher bases his study of Pleng Korat on the theoretical framework of Ethnomusicology in which forms, contents and procedures of both lyrics and rhythm are analyzed. The objective of the study is to observe the development of Pleng Korat from the past up to the present with the focus on ‘original' Pleng Korat which has become less and less popular these days. From the study, it was found that Pleng Korat has undergone some development and that its forms, contents and procedures have changed considerably. While singers' creativity as well as listeners' taste constitute one reason, the other reason results from socio-cultural changes within the Thai Korat community. More varieties of Pleng Korat are created to accommodate the needs of the community. Pleng Korat Kae Bon, which is sung to fulfil one's vow or to make a votive offering, and Pleng Korat Sing, a mixture of typical Pleng Korat and modern folk, are two examples of well-known new-age Pleng Korat currently being performed. Regardless of the changes, Pleng Korat still preserves its distinguished lyrical and rhythmic characteristics, especially the Korat verse and “O” rhythm. However, whether Pleng Korat continues to be popular or not depends greatly on each singer's knowledge as well as the particular artist's own techniques of singing.