INSTRUMENT OF GAMELAN

KENONG  

                                  


the kenong is an instrument used in the indonesion gamelan. it is technically a kind of gong. it is placed on its sides. it has the same length and width. thus it is similar to the bonang, kempayang and ketuk,which are cradled gongs. kenong are considerably higher pitch . its sound stands out because of its unique timber.

                                                            BONANG

                         

bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (rancak), either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher ones have an arched one. Each is tuned to a specific pitch in the appropriate scale; thus there are different bonang for pelog and slendro. They are typically hit with padded sticks (tabuh). This is similar to the other cradled gongs in the gamelan, the kethuk, kempyang, and kenong. Bonang may be made of forged bronze, welded and cold-hammered iron, or a combination of metals. In addition to the gong-shaped form of kettles, economical bonang made of hammered iron or brass plates with raised bosses are often found in village gamelan, in Suriname-style gamelan, and in some American gamelan.

                                                                    GONG
                                     
                                   

The gong ageng (or gong gedhe in Ngoko Javanese, means large gong) is a musical instrument. It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra and the only large gong that is called gongin Javanese.^[1] Unlike the more famous Chinese or Turkish tam-tams, Indonesian gongs have fixed, focused pitch, and are dissimilar to the familiar crash cymbal sound. It is circular, with a conical, tapering base of diameter smaller than gong face, with a protruding polished boss where it is struck by a padded mallet. Gongs with diameter as large as 135 centimeters (53 inches) have been created in the past, but gongs larger than about 80 centimeters (31 inches) are more common especially to suit the budget of educational institutions.^[2]

There is at least one large gong in each gamelan, but two are common and older gamelans may have three or more.^[1] The gong ageng usually has its own name, which may be bestow upon the entire set of instruments.^[1]The gong ageng is considered the most important instrument in a gamelan ensemble: the soul or spirit of the gamelan is said to live in the gong.^[3] Gong ageng are often proffered ritual offerings of flowers, food, and/or and incense before performances^[4] or each Thursday evening^[1] to appease spirits believed to live in and around it.

Commonly, less expensive iron gong ageng or a slit-type gong are made to fulfill the role of the bronze gong, though at the loss of sound quality- for poorer regions and villages.^[2] The cost of expertly pure cast & beaten bronze has seen a rise in bronze-plated and bronze-laminated iron gongs created for the undiscerning expatriate.

                                                            GAMBANG

                     

The Gamelan Gambang is a type of gamelan ensemble in Bali, which uses four gambangs, a wooden xylophone-like instrument (as opposed to most gamelan instruments, which are made of bronze), as well as two sarons. It is considered an ancient and sacred ensemble, and is used for temple and funeral rites. It uses seven tones.
                                                        KENDHANG





Kendhang (Javanese: Kendhang, Malay: Gendang, Tausug/Bajau Maranao: Gandang) 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 Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic group.
                                                                    DEMUNG



Demung is one of the gamelan instruments including balungan family.

In one set of gamelan there are usually two demung, both have pelog and slendro version. Demung resulted in the lowest octave tone with balungan family, with a larger physical size. Wilahan demung have relatively thinner but wider than wilahan saron, so that it produces a lower tone. Hit the demung usually made of wood, with a shape like a hammer, bigger and heavier than the drum saron.




There is the usual way in accordance beating that tone, tone compensation, or beating alternately between first and demung demung 2, resulting in varying tones interwoven but follow a certain pattern. Slow and fast hard penabuhan weak depending on the command of the drum and type gendhingnya. In gendhing Gangsaran describing the condition of war for example, demung beaten with a hard and fast. In a nuanced piece Gati military, beaten demung slow but hard. When accompanied the beaten track slowly. When being in a state return, then the beaten fast and hard. 
                                                                        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 pekingpictured 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.