Each bamboo pipe in a khaen has a small metal reed inside - a thin strip of metal that vibrates when air passes over it. Different pipes produce different notes. By covering or uncovering small holes on each pipe with their fingers while breathing, the player can play melodies, harmonies, and rich chords all at once.
The khaen can have 6, 14 or 16 pipes depending on the style. The longer pipes produce deep, low notes; the shorter pipes give bright, high notes. A player holding a 16-pipe khaen has their arms stretched wide, with the instrument almost as wide as their shoulders.
Khaen music is closely connected to a style of singing and storytelling called 'mor lam'. In mor lam performances, a singer improvises long poetic stories while a khaen player improvises the melody alongside them. Both performers feed off each other's energy - like a musical conversation.
UNESCO added khaen music to its list of important cultural traditions in 2017, recognising it as a special and unique part of human musical culture. Khaen makers are considered skilled craftspeople, and the best instruments take weeks to make carefully.