Pen Ran — The Queen of Cambodian Rock

If Ros Serey Sothea was the golden voice of the ballad, Pen Ran was the spark of Cambodian rock and roll. Bold, playful, and full of attitude, she brought a swagger to the 1960s Khmer music scene that still sounds fresh today — and her songs are some of the most fun you can learn on guitar.

A different kind of star

While many singers of the golden age specialised in romantic ballads, Pen Ran leaned into rhythm and personality. Her recordings pull from rock, go-go, twist, and funk, often with a cheeky, flirtatious, or comedic edge. On stage and on record she was confident and lively — a performer who clearly loved to have fun, and made her listeners want to dance.

That energy made her a perfect counterweight in Cambodia's golden-age scene. Alongside artists like Sin Sisamuth, she helped show just how wide Khmer popular music could stretch — from tender love songs to full-throttle rock.

What guitarists can learn from her songs

Pen Ran's upbeat numbers are a brilliant way to practise rhythm and strumming. Where a slow ballad teaches you clean chord changes, her songs push you to keep a steady, driving groove — the skill that makes a song feel alive. Start slow, lock in the strumming pattern, and speed up as it becomes natural.

Because many of these songs are punchy and repetitive, they're surprisingly beginner-friendly once you have the groove. Use the transpose control to fit your voice, and turn on autoscroll so you can focus on your right hand.

Remembered and rediscovered

Pen Ran, too, was lost during the Khmer Rouge period in the late 1970s — part of a generation of Cambodian musicians the regime tried to erase. But her music survived on old records and through the diaspora, and in recent decades it has found a whole new audience worldwide, celebrated on reissues and by fans who can't help but move when her songs come on.

Learning one of her tunes is a great reminder that Khmer music isn't only about heartbreak and longing — it can also be joyful, funny, and impossible to sit still to.

Start playing

Find her chord sheets — with transpose, autoscroll, and romanized lyrics — on her artist page: Pen Ran on ReanChord. If you're still getting comfortable reading chords, our beginner's guide will get you started, then pick one of her upbeat songs and focus on the strum.

— Written by the ReanChord team.