INSTRUMENTS

  GAMELAN    INSTRUMENT                                     

             
  BONANG             

     

• Bonang are actually gong-chimes arranged in two rows.  Each gong has a different pitch.  All Bonangs can be divided into two main groups:  Bonang Barung and Bonang Panerus.  These two groups of bonang are actually similar to each other, except Bonang Panerus sounded one octave higher then Bonang Barung. 
• A typical gamelan usually has 14 bonangs, two rows of seven.  Sometimes there are only 12.  The wooden rack that is supporting the bonangs looks like small bad-frames.  In the middle of the frame there are a number of open squares. Two parallel cords pass through each squares.                                                                                                     GONG                                                                                                    
• Suspended gongs are played with hammers and are of two main types: flat faced discs either with or without a turned edge, and gongs with a raised centre boss. In general, the larger the gong, the larger and softer the hammer. In Western symphonic music, the flat faced gongs are generally referred to as tam-tams to distinguish them from their bossed counterparts. Here, the term "gong" is reserved for the bossed type only. The gong has been a Chinese instrument for millennia. Their first use may have been to signal peasant workers in from the fields as some gongs are loud enough to be heard from up to five miles away. In Japan, they are traditionally used to start the beginning of sumo wrestling contests.
• Large flat gongs may be 'primed' by lightly hitting them before the main stroke, greatly enhancing the sound and causing the instrument to "speak" sooner, with a shorter delay for the sound to "bloom". Keeping this priming stroke inaudible calls for a great deal of skill. The smallest suspended gongs are played with bamboo sticks or even western-style drumsticks. Contemporary and avant-garde music, where different sounds are sought, will often use friction mallets (producing squeals and harmonics), bass bows (producing long tones and high overtones), and various striking implements (wood/plastic/metal) to produce the desired tones.

                           KENONG

  

• Kenong is a kind of idiophone tool derived from Java [need reference], Indonesia, which composed a musical instrument of gamelan. Kenong has a set of tools that resemble gongs but rather thinner and rounder than flat-shaped gongs and thicker.
• This kenong is placed on a rope tied to a hardwood made of wood to produce a tuned tone after being tapped using a knocker tool such as a knocker too
• Kenong knocker tool consists of wood and straps attached to the top of the wood. The player is played by knocking every single song. Its role is to produce a softer sound from the sound produced by the gong.
• Not on kenong: 1 2 3 5 6 --------------------------           

                                                                    SARON PEKING 

•       The saron peking (peking for short) is a one-octave metallophone with nearly rectangular keys (wilah) resting over a box resonator (rancakan kijingan). The iron keys on the peking pictured here are made from recycled sheet metal salvaged from an unknown source. Bronze and brass can and often are used for peking keys (see panerus).Holes for anchoring the keys on its casing are drilled at one-quarter of a key’s total length from each end, which are nodal (dead) points in the mode of vibration for rectangular keys. The keys rest on the top edge of the resonator’s sideboards, separated from it by cube-shaped cushions made of folded rattan (see detail photo). The keys and their cushions are anchored in place with pins (made from nails) that run through the holes in the keys and the cushions beneath them into the wooden sideboard. One hammer-shaped wooden beater (tabuh) is used to strike the keys.                                    

SARON DEMUNG 

The saron demung (‘demung’ for short) is a one-octave metallophone with nearly rectangular keys (wilah) resting over a box resonator (rancakan kijingan). The steel keys on the demung pictured here are made from recycled leaf springs salvaged from trucks. Bronze and brass can and often are used for demung keys (see panerus). Holes for anchoring the keys on its casing are drilled at one-quarter of a key’s total length from each end, which are nodal (dead) points in the mode of vibration for rectangular keys. The keys rest on the top edge of the resonator’s sideboards, separated from it by cube-shaped cushions made of folded rattan (see detail photo). The keys and their cushions are anchored in place with pins (made from nails) that run through the holes in the keys and the cushions beneath them into the wooden sideboard. One hammer-shaped wooden beater (tabuh) is used to strike the keys.

GAMBANG

• A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang gangsa, is a similar instrument made with metal bars.
• The bars of the instrument are made of a se wood, generally teak. It also found in ironwood (kayu besi). The bars mounted in a deep wooden case that serves as a resonator. Instruments typically have 17-21 keys that are easily removed, and are kept in place by having a hole through which a nail is placed. Generally a full gamelan has two sets, one gambang pelog and the other one gambang slendro.

KENDANG

• Kendhang  is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia. Kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the Gamelan ensembles of Java, Bali and Terengganu, the Malay Kendang ensemble as well as various Kulintangensembles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups.
• Each race like Chinese, Malay and Indians has drums with their own names. Drum is available in various sizes and uses. There are drums used for the sake of the Malays. There are drums used for dancing dances and there are also used to celebrate Royal celebrations or seals.