Angklung

Posted on | Saturday, August 27, 2011 | No Comments

A large majority of Indonesian traditional instruments tend to be made of bamboo, as it is readily availableAngklung throughout Indonesia. School children are often taught basic music on instruments such as Suling, Gambang or Angklung. A suling is a small flute-like instrument, which resembles a recorder, however it is made of bamboo. It has holes down the length of the instrument that when covered or uncovered by the player's fingers result in the various notes.

Angklung are another traditional Indonesian instrument that is made from bamboo, originating from West Java. Angklung are actually a group of various sized hand-held instruments made from bamboo. When the angklung is shaken is produces a chord of music. The size of the angklung determines the chord that it produces. Songs are played with one person standing up behind a group of hanging angklung or by a group of people holding one angklung and playing their chord at the appropriate time within the song - much like a group of people would play bells in the west.

A gambang is a xylophone-type instrument with keys made from different lengths of bamboo. The different lengths of the bamboo result in different notes. The bamboo produces a very pleasant soft sound when struck with the mallets.

A very different type of instrument is the gamelan orchestra. Gamelan is actually a group of percussion and accompanying instruments which are housed on short legs which allow the musician to play the instrument sitting down on the floor cross-legged. Gamelan are used in traditional music, primarily in Java and Bali.

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