Gamelan

Overview

A gamelan is a set of tuned percussion instruments and comes from Indonesia. Gamelan music has existed for hundreds of years, and there are a number of different styles from different islands.

Gamelan music can be heard in many different venues, from courts to temples to village squares. Often the music is used to accompany an event that involves dance or ritual – for example, puppet shows, plays or religious ceremonies.

The music is learned by ear, instead of from notation.

Key Features

  • Gongs – which hang from a frame at the back of the gamelan.
  • Metallophones – which are like xylophones with metal bars. The saron usually plays the main melody.
  • Drums – the leader of the ensemble usually plays the drum to give signals to the players.
  • Two common scales – slendro (5 note) and pelog (7 note).
  • Cyclic – a short melody is repeated continuously.
  • Heterophony – all the other instruments will basically play this same melody but at different speeds. Lower pitched instrument move at a slower pace and higher pitched instruments move quicker.
  • Gongs punctuate key points in the music.
  • Gamelan players don’t follow a conductor, they listen very carefully to each other to make sure they stay together.


Test Yourself

  • What is the name of the pentatonic scale commonly used in gamelan music?
  • Which word best describes the texture of gamelan music?
    • heterophonic
    • homophonic
    • monophonic
    • polyphonic
  • Which two of the following instruments would be found in a gamelan ensemble?
    • gong
    • harpsichord
    • mbira
    • metallophone
    • sitar
  • Name two occasions at which gamelan music might be performed
  • Gamelan music is structured in cycles called gongans. What marks the end of each gongan? 

Additional Links

BBC Bitesize - Gamelan Music



'Bendrong' from the album 'Java the Jasmine Isle: Gamelan Music' 

Listen out for:

  • The line-up of gongs, metallophones and drums.
  • The simple core melody which lasts for ten bars and is repeated by the sarons.
  • The large, low-pitched gong that plays every two bars, in contrast to the high-pitched metallophones that play offbeat quavers above the main melody (this is an example of heterophony).
  • The drummer slowing down near the start of the piece by playing loud quavers to get everyone’s attention.