More than 30 different instruments were recorded with great care to convey the live sound and dynamics of gamelan. Play individual instruments or the entire ensemble at the same time – full control over the sound of gamelan is available to both experts and beginners.
Gamelan is an ensemble of instruments originating from Indonesia. Most gamelan instruments are percussion instruments, and most are made of bronze. These include metallophones, similar to xylophones, of different sizes and pitches, tunable gongs, very high-pitched gongs, and a variety of drums and percussion.
There are many types of gamelan ensembles, but the two dominant types are Javanese and Balinese. Balinese gamelan has a characteristic “shimmering” sound, which arises from the arrangement of paired instruments playing the same musical part.
Although gamelan music has been around for centuries (there is evidence that instruments existed before 800 AD), it is a live music in Indonesia and is gaining popularity in the west.
Styles continue to evolve and new gamelan music is constantly being written. The Balinese “Gong Kebyar”, a particularly flamboyant style, dominated for much of the century and is probably Bali’s most famous export.
Gamelan music is very much community-based – it has been described as “a negotiation between musicians.” Many musicians play interlocking parts in which two instruments use alternating notes. This technique allows the ensemble to play incredibly fast passages.