Music warms the heart and lifts the spirit. In the Cambodian countryside, the strains of Khmer melodies can be heard as people hum, whistle and sing while working in the rice paddies. The powerful nature of songs can motivate even the most tired laborer to push forward.

When the human voice grows tired, the Khmer flute gains strength. The haunting resonance of the wind instrument can evoke deep emotion in a nation heavy with the weight of ragged history. But it also can enliven the public, inspiring dance and laughter, and helping to ease the most stressful days.
Like a moth to a flame, hard working rice farmers are mesmerized by the flute's whistle. Under the hot midday sun, little can convince one to continue laboring. But the soothing sounds of the flute lift farmers' minds from the task at hand, making the minutes pass without notice.

Musicians armed with few resources but a lot of creativity may know how to churn music from a simple leaf. Wearing little more than a colorful krama, rural dwellers often are seen lazing lackadaisically in the shade of a palm. Khmer flutists, according to Soy Saret, a Music Department professor at the Royal University of Fine Art and Culture, favor five traditional songs.
The songs are: Bampeh (To Comfort); Bangkohng K'aek (Crow's Roost); Chaahp Pouhk (Red-Brown Sparrow); Sorin K'nahng Phnom (Hill Tribe Sorin People); and Chrohng (a Khmer Melody). Each melody evokes a different emotion and is quite telling of a musician's mood.

Since the 16th century, flutes have been popular accompaniments to Khmer wedding music, said Mao Pheong, traditional Khmer music professor at the Royal University of Fine Art. This popularity began long before the Angkorian period,