Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What instruments are commonly used in a Javanese gamelan orchestra?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
musical instrument
Children playing musical instruments.
A Javanese gamelan is an indigenous orchestra primarily composed of various gongs and tuned metallophones. These instruments are struck with mallets to create a complex, layered sound.1
Common instruments include:
- Gongs: These include large suspended gongs used for colotomic punctuation and the bonang, which consists of knobbed, kettle-shaped gongs placed flat.1
- Percussive Melodic Instruments: These feature various metallophones and the gambang kayu, a type of xylophone.1
- Leading and Sustaining Instruments: The kendang (drum) acts as the leader of the ensemble. Sustained melodies are provided by the suling (bamboo flute), the rebab (a bowed stringed instrument), or by human voices, which are frequently integrated into the orchestral texture.1
Javanese gamelans are often tuned to either the slendro or pelog scales, and "double gamelans" may contain sets for both.1