A piphat is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Thailand, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of the Thai classical repertoire, including the Buddhist invocation entitled sathukan () as well as the suites called phleng rueang. It is also used to accompany traditional Thai theatrical and dance forms including khon () (masked dance-drama), lakhon (classical dance), and shadow puppet theater. Piphat in the earlier time was called phinphat. It is analogous to its Cambodian musical ensemble of pinpeat and Laotian ensemble of pinphat. Types of piphat The smallest piphat, called piphat khrueang ha, is composed of six instruments: pi nai (oboe); ranat ek (xylophone); khong wong yai (gong circle); taphon or other Thai drums; glong thad, a set of two large barrel drums beaten with sticks; and ching (small cymbals). Often other small percussion instruments such as krap or chap are used. A slightly larger piphat ensemble is called piphat khrueang khu, and consists of eight musical instruments. The other two instruments are the ranat thum (xylophone), which produces a deeper sound than the ranat ek, and khong wong lek, a gong circle that is higher in pitch than the khong wong yai. The largest form of piphat ensemble is the piphat khrueang yai, which consists of ten musical instruments. Another ones are ranat ek lek and ranat thum lek; these are almost the same as their ancestors, the ranat ek and ranat thum, but they have keys made from metal instead of wood. Piphat khrueang ha Wong piphat khrueang ha (, ) is an ensemble consisting of: 1 pi nai - bass oboe 1 taphon - secondary beat 1 ching - main beat 1 khong wong yai - bass gongs hung in a nearly full circular track 2 glong thad - Thai tympani 1 ranat ek - treble xylophone Piphat khrueang khu Wong piphat khrueang khu (, ) is developed from piphat khrueang ha, by arranging instruments in pairs of treble-bass. It consists of: 1 pi nai - bass oboe 1 pi nok - treble oboe 1 taphon - secondary timekeeper 1 glong songna or 2 glong khaek 2 glong thad - Thai tympani 1 ching - main timekeeper 1 chap 1 khong wong yai - bass gongs hung in semicircular track 1 khong wong lek - treble