Gamelan (pronounced GAH-MUH-LAHN) are ensembles largely composed of gongs and keyed percussion instruments. Although many such ensembles are found throughout Southeast Asia, gamelan primarily associated with musical cultures on the Indonesian island of Java, Bali, and Lombok. In Java, the most preferred material is bronze, but iron and brass are also used as less expensive alternatives. Most Javanese gamelan use a 5-tone tuning system called slendro (pronounced SLEHN-DROH) or a 7-tone tuning system called pelog (pronounced PAY-LAWG).
Gamelan includes four groups of instruments:
• The largest hanging gongs (gong), mark the very end of each cycle while the smaller hanging gongs (kempul – [pronounced KEHM-POOL]) and horizontal gongs (kenong, kethuk, and kempyang — [pronounced KUH-NONG, KEH-TOO`K`, KEHM-YOUNG) divide the cycle into phrases.
• A family of one octaves mettallophones (saron, slenthem - [pronounced SAH-RAWN, SLEN-TUHM])
• A third group of instruments elaborates the melody and includes other
mettalophones (peking, gender, and gender panerus – [pronounced PUH-KING, GEN-DAIR, GEN-DAIR PAHN-NEAROUS]), the xylophone (gambang –[pronounced GAHM-BAHNG]), gong chimes (bonang and bonang panerus –[pronounced BOH-NAHNG, BOH-NAHNG PAHN-NEAROUS]), flute (suling –[pronounced SUE-LINK]), bowed fiddle (rebab – [pronounced R`BAHB]), and voice.
• The drums (kendhang – [pronounced KEHN-DAHNG]) the fourth group, control the tempo.
In Java there are two scales, a seven tone (pelog –pronounced PAY-LAWG) and a five tone (Slendro –pronounced SLEHN-DRAW). What we have here in our group is the Slendro scale (five tone) with numbers and letter equivalents 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 or similarly (C D F G Bb)
