Gamelan is a traditional Indonesian orchestra, mainly made up of percussion instruments, which are played by striking them. The main instruments are metal gongs. Other instruments include double-ended drums to mark the rhythm, xylophones for convex metal or wooden keys, rebabs (bowed lutes played like cellos), and flutes. Gamelan orchestras vary in size and composition. They generally accompany dancing or wayang (shadow theater) performances. Individual singers and a chorus normally sing with the orchestra. A full gamelan consists of about 20 performers, but most orchestras have fewer.
Loading the player...Indonesian ceremonial song
Gamelan orchestras play in two different tone systems. One set of instruments uses a five-tone system that sounds like a minor key in Western music. The other set uses a seven-tone system.
Historians think that gamelan music developed in Java side by side with the shadow theater. The oldest gamelan instruments found in palaces of central Java are claimed to be more than 600 years old. Instruments that were probably older have been found in the valley of the Mekong River on the Southeast Asian mainland.
