 Balinese Musical Instruments
Balinese musical instruments provide the distinctive tone and melody for its traditional performing arts. These instruments are put together into musical ensembles called the gamelan orchestra. The gamelan is not unique to Bali, but is played across the Indonesian archipelago.
A gamelan troupe may comprise as few as four musicians, performing to accompany a wayang kulit, to a full orchestra of 40 musicians for elaborate ceremonies.
Balinese musician playing the metallophones (19 June, 2004)
© Timothy Tye using this photo
Gamelan orchestras are made up primarily of metallophones, gongs and bronze keys. At the heart of the gamelan are a pair of drums, called kendang. They are regarded as a male, and a slightly larger one, the female. The drums are struck by hand or with a stick.
The metallophones are called Gangsa, literally "bronze". It is a set of keyed metallophones of various sizes, struck to create the melody.
Accent music is provided by cymbols, while a single gong called kempli provides the steady beat. Other instruments in the ensemble include the flute (suling) and the two-stringed violin (rebab).
In addition to the Gamelan, there are other form of music performers in Bali. The Balaganjur is a troupe of walking orchestra comprising cymbols and drums. They perform to scare off evil spirits it their path.
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