Instruments- Indonesia

As previously mentioned before, gamelan is composed of mostly metallophones and gongs. The interesting part is that although gamelan is a huge part of Indonesian culture and sound, both metallophones and gongs are not Indonesian in origin.

Metallophones

Metallophones, metal equivalents of xylophones, originated in Turkey and then got brought to China in the 7th century. These would have been seen as iron imitations of Chinese stone chimes. Two or three centuries later, bronze slabs were used instead. Gamelan metallophones use these bronze slabs (9). 

There are two types of metallophones used in gamelan: saron and gender. They use different types of metal bars in which the saron uses a thick, slightly curved bar and the gender uses a thin, ribbed bar. Both instruments have the bars over a wooden frame although the bars for the gender sit atop tuned tube (usually bamboo) resonators (10). There are 3 different sarons and 2 different genders. They vary in sizes which changes the octaves each one plays in.

This is a picture of a saron demung. The bars rest on a wooden frame.

This is a picture of a gender panerus. Notice the tube resonators under the metal bars.

Saron is played with striking the instrument with one hand and dampening with the other whereas both hands strike the instrument with gender and dampening is done by moving one's wrist towards the instrument.

Here are videos to show these instruments being played:

Saron (11)

Gender (12)

Gongs

Gongs are thought to have originated in China during the 6th century. They are thought to have looked like this:

This is a brass gong from the Garo tribe in Assam

Gongs were of great value and were thought to have powers such as healing sickness or scaring away spirits. They were brought to Java in the 9th century, and actually, the word "gong" comes from Java (9).

The gong's instrumental form has changed to fit the needs of the gamelan ensemble. There are two kinds of gongs: hanging (they hang on wooden stands) and cradled (they are supported from the bottom by string cords stretched across a wooden rack). These gongs are usually made of bronze although some use iron as well. The gongs have a protruding knob in the middle where they are hit. Most of these gongs are used for punctuation except for one type of cradled gong called the bonang which is used for elaboration of the melody (13). 

There are two types of hanging gongs: gong ageng and kempul:

This is the gong ageng, the largest hanging gong in the ensemble.

This is the kempul. There are several gong sizes so different pitches can be played.

The cradled gongs looks like the hanging gongs turned upright.

This is the bonang. It has two rows of gongs varying in pitches. There are two
types of bonang, bonang barung and bonang panerus. Bonang panerus is an octave higher. 

Here are videos of a man playing bonang barung and bonang panerus. Notice the lower pitches of bonang barung. 

Bonang barung (14)

Bonang panerus (15)

These instruments have developed from their original imported form and now are a crucial part of the Indonesian gamelan sound. It's interesting to see a country develop instruments and really turn it into their own.