The traditional music that accompanies the Ram Muay and the Muay Thai fight itself is known as Sarama.
The atmosphere in a Muay Thai stadium is always enhanced by the music that accompanies each fight. The music changes in tempo and dynamics based on the action in the ring and not only adds to the atmosphere but even influences the fighters as well as the crowd.
The instruments that form the live, acoustic setup are the pi chawa – a type of woodwind instrument; klong kak drums played by hand; and bronze or copper finger cymbals that are known as ching – used to keep the rhythm.
Remarkably, the pi chawa is a wind instrument that is played in a way in which the performer never stops blowing. This creates a continuous tone that is never interrupted by the need to breathe in air, using a method known as Circular Breathing. The method is believed to originate from the Persians who have used it to play wind instruments such as the saaz for millennia. Performers master the skill of breathing in through the nose while simultaneously blowing out from the mouth.
Ching finger symbols are used widely in Thai classical music and can be heard in everything from court music to traditional shadow plays alongside stringed instruments, gongs and Thai xylophones known as ranat ek. The drums and the high-pitched ching maintain the rhythm in both Thai and Khmer music.
Sarama was originally performed in the Royal Court of Thailand and performances often featured characters from Thai mythology. Today, performances can be seen at cultural events, hotels, shopping malls and most notably in Muay Thai stadiums where it is referred to as Phleng Pi Muay Thai.
Sarama is played from the onset, marking the start of the Wai Kru Ram Muay pre-fight dance ritual that fighters traditionally perform. The music plays through each round, stopping for the breaks. In the first two rounds of a five-round stadium fight, the music is relatively calm and constant. In rounds three and four where fights get intense, the music also builds in intensity through increased tempo and dynamics. During the fifth and final round where fights typically slow down, the music starts to feel like it is also coming to an end. The ‘outro’ generally starts half-way through the final round and often visibly influences the fighters to stop engaging.
The way in which Muay Thai fighters fight in the fifth round is largely influenced by three factors – the stadium punters, their corners, and the Sarama musicians. This tends to raise a few eyebrows outside of Thailand as people argue that fights can and do turn around in the final minutes. Particularly in a sport that often sees flash knockouts and upsets. Although many argue that such traditions contribute to preserving the cultural character of the sport.
In Muay Thai events overseas, it is more common that a recording of the Sarama is played through speakers. A 1999 Sarama recording by V. Music is most often used for Muay Thai fights outside of Thailand.
The Sarama is an improvised piece of music led by the pi chawa player. The improvised nature of performances that follows and sometimes guides fights makes the Sarama very much a live soundtrack.