Skor yike

Two large skor yike, being used at a New Years Party featuring Lakhon Yike (Yike Opera).
At a New Years Party for members of a Yike Opera, members recall or perform pieces of their opera. Dancers are in the background, singers sit together up front, and skor yikes play.

The skor yike (Khmer: ស្គរយីកេ) is a family of Cambodian frame drums used in Yike theater.[1][2] There are as many as 13 different sizes, including the largest, the skor mei (approximately 2 feet across, 25 centimeters/9 inches deep).[1] In the Yike drama, the skor mei starts and ends the music.[1]

In a Yike play, there may be from 2 to 13 drums.[2] The largest skor mei drum begins, all perform, and then the instruments fall away until only the skor mei is still playing.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Vanna, Ly (September 2002). "Cambodian Percussion". leisurecambodia.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018. There are 13 different skor yikei, from large to small. The biggest one is called skor mei- this is always the first drum to start. The theatre leader always beats skor mei (meaning "leading drum") to order, or to stop the activity of the performers.
  2. ^ a b c Khean, Yun; Dorivan, Keo; Lina, Y; Lenna, Mao. Traditional Musical Instruments of Cambodia (PDF). Kingdom of Cambodia: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. pp. 246–247.