Abstract:
Suad Berk is one of the traditional chants of Lanna, and is generally done in
celebration of the Buddha image. The greatest Suad Berk event in Lampang province each
year is the Yeepeng festival, which is a ritual that has been passed on for several
generations. The objective of this research was to explore the socio-cultural aspects of
the Yeepeng Festival of Lampang Province as well as the typical chant melodies.
The study found that, suad berk in Lampang relies on the rhythm that is controlled
through the use of mai berk as the percussive instrument. Monks from each temples have
specific ways to express their characteristic chant melodies, such as portamento and
imitating rooster calls. The melody lines are found to be in pentatonic, hexatonic, and
diatonic scales, with the first one being the most popular of the three. The range is usually
within the eighth interval. Structural pitches are found to commonly use 4 - 5 notes. The
melodic shape and melodic direction is usually in conjunct motion, with disjunct motion is
third intervals in major scale, third intervals in minor scale, and fourth and fifth perfect
intervals. Ornamentation usually utilizes vibrato and grace note techniques and
incorporates short rhythmic patterns. The melodic lines are often allotted to traditional
Lanna chants, which use chatawa tone or the rising tone to a great degree