Instrument World

Gamelan, Indonesian orchestra based on families of tuned gongs, xylophones, and metallophones (a percussion instrument with bars of metal). Gamelans may also employ cymbals, drums, flutes, and fiddles. Originally court music with Hindustani influences, gamelans moved mainly to rural communities after the Dutch made Indonesia a colony in the 1800s. Gamelan music was played as an accompaniment to ceremonial occasions, dancing, and puppet theater.

The music is improvised and based on interlocking tonal and rhythmic patterns. Javanese gamelan music uses a seven-tone pelog scale, while Balinese prefers a five-tone slendro scale. The scale of gongs vary in precise pitch, but they incorporate matched pairs that deviate slightly in pitch. Gamelan music has inspired Western composers such as Claude Debussy, Colin McPhee, John Cage, Benjamin Britten, and Philip Glass.
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