Pi is the generic term for any of a variety of quadruple reed

Reed (instrument)

A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of most Woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics.-Single reeds:Single reeds are used on the mouthpieces of clarinets...

 oboes used in the traditional music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 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...

. It is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Cambodian sralai

Sralai

The sralai is a wind instrument used in the pinpeat of Cambodia. Its quadruple reed is made of palm leaf, and its body has a slightly conical bore. 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...

.

Varieties

• Pi chawa (ปี่ชวา)
• Pi klang (ปี่กลาง)
• Pi mon (ปี่มอญ)
• Pi nai (ปี่ใน)
• Pi nok (ปี่นอก)
• Pi chanai (ปี่ไฉน)

An entirely different instrument, a bamboo free reed pipe called pi chum (ปี่จุม), is used by the Lanna

Lanna

The Kingdom of Lanna was a kingdom centered in present-day northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The cultural development of the people of Lanna, the Tai Yuan people, had begun long before as successive Tai Yuan kingdoms preceded Lanna...

 of Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand

Thailand's northern region is geographically characterised by multiple mountain ranges which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar and Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them...

.

Pi nok

The pi nok (31×3.5 cm) is smallest among pi nok, klang, and nai. Pi noks have been played since the ancient times.

buang si batarilan

Pi nai

The pi nai (41–42×4.5 cm) is commonly seen in Thai literature such as Phra Aphai Mani.

Pi cha nai

The pi chanai is pi song thon (ปี่สองท่อน, pi that consists of two parts). Body part is called lao pi (เลาปี่). Mouth part is called "lamphong" (ลำโพง). Both parts are made from wood or ivory. It is presumed that the Thais obtained this musical influence from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 due to its similarity to the Indian shehnai

Shehnai

The shehnai, shahnai, shenai or mangal vadya, is an aerophonic instrument, a double reed conical oboe, common in North India, West India and Pakistan, made out of wood, with a metal flare bell at the end...

. Pi have been used in Thai since the Sukhothai

Sukhothai kingdom

The Sukhothai Kingdom ) was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 till 1438...

 period. At present, it is played together with the pi chawa in parades.

Pi chawa

The pi chawa is pi song thon (ปี่สองท่อน) (pi that consist of two parts) like the pi chanai, but longer. It is made from wood or ivory. Presume Thai take in pi chawa as same time as glong khaek

Glong khaek

Glong khaek is a type of double-headed barrel drum used in Thai music.The instrument's name comes from glong and khaek . There are two types of glong khaek: glong khaek tua phu and glong khaek tua mia...

. From some evidence, they used pi chawa in Krabuan Phayuhayattra (กระบวนพยุหยาตรา, military march) in the pre-Ayutthaya period.

Pi mon

The pi mon is pi song thon (ปี่สองท่อน, pi that consist of two parts) like pi chawa but greater. Lao pi (เลาปี่, the body of pi) is made from wood. Lamphong (ลำโพง, the mouth of pi) is made from metal. The pi mon is played usually in the piphat mon ensemble or in the old called pi phat raman ensemble.