Gamelan, and the Pang Orchestra

Gamelan Orchestra

We’ll be honest with you, up until shortly before writing this post, we had no idea what "Gamelan" were. It’s a name that we’ve heard of many times while reading up on the Hang, and is something that is often cited as being “influential” in the creation of the Hang, by PANArt.However, we had assumed that as with the “Gong”, and the “Ghatam”, two other forms of instrument that PANArt often refer to as being of note within their research, that Gamelan were of a more singular form. Whereas, as we have very recently found out, that is not the case at all. Gamelan, are a collection of varied instruments, native to the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia...

Gamelan orchestra are made up predominantly of percussive instruments - with the most common instruments used being metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called "Kendhang" which register the beat. Though xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a "Rebab", and even vocalists called "Sindhen", can also play their part (among other instrument types).

The name Gamelan essentially means “hammer”, and is derived from the fact that the base instruments are played with a hammer-like tool. And Gamelan music is usually performed for background music to shadow puppet plays, or at a traditional dance.