Thai Musical Soundspaces in Urban Society: A Research Tool for Music Studies

Abstract

This article examines the dynamics of Thai Traditional Music
in urban society through the concept of “musical soundspace.” which examined data collected between 2024 and 2026 in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. It argues that Thai musical practices in cities are not fixed but can emerge, move, and transform under changing urban conditions—across meanings, practices, and the governance of contemporary cultural spaces. Consequently, studying urban Thai Traditional Music cannot be confined to musical texts or performance forms alone; it must address the relationships among performers and audiences, listening contexts, spatial conditions, and stakeholder expectations. This is particularly evident in cultural-tourism settings, where communication gaps between performers and visitors coexist with institutional demands for more contemporary, trend-responsive, and engaging production     s. The article therefore proposes “soundspace” as a core analytical unit for building an integrated research toolkit. It connects qualitative fieldwork methods with sound and performance analysis, spatial and network-based approaches, and frameworks for policy and cultural value assessment. Such integration enables systematic cross-context comparison and advances music research beyond descriptive case studies toward more testable explanations of the structures and dynamics of Thai Traditional Music in urban life.