The sralai () is a Cambodian wind instrument that uses a quadruple reed to produce sound. The instrument is used in the pinpeat orchestra, where it is the only wind instrument. The set of quadruple reeds are made of palm leaf. The bore of the instrument is not evenly bored, but "slightly conical."Katherine Brisbane, Ravi Chaturvedi, Ramendu Majumdar, Chua Soo Pong, and Minoru Tanokura; eds. (2005). The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Volume 5: Asia/Pacific, unpaginated. Routledge. .André de Quadros; ed. (2000). Many seeds, different flowers: the music education legacy of Carl Orff, p.43. "Four little tongues (reeds) of dried palm leaf are fastened to a brass tube with thread, and the reeds are placed completely in the mouth, with the tongue place under the reeds to control the opening." CIRCME. . 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 circular breathing to play continuously without stopping for breath. The sralai is very similar in construction and playing technique to the Thai pi.
See also Shehnai quadruple-reed instrument used throughout the Indian subcontinent
References
External links Sound sample of the Thai equivalent (the pi). Sralai "oboe" page from Cambodian with Dr. Sam-Ang Sam, Ethnomusicology OnLine Sralai audio