The khaen is a Lao mouth organ whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. The khene is the national instrument of Laos. The khene music is an integral part of Lao life that promotes family and social cohesion and it was inscribed in 2017 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is used among the ethnic Lao Isan and Some tai ethnic groups such as Tai dam In north Vietnam and Lao population of the province of Stung Treng and is used in lakhon ken, a Cambodian dance drama genre that features the khene as the main instrument In Vietnam, this instrument is used among the Tai peoples and the Muong people.

A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number: 412.13. Free reed instruments are contrasted with non-free or enclosed reed instruments, where the timbre is fully or partially dependent on the shape of the instrument body, Hornbostel–Sachs number: 42.