Gamelan degung

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sundanese Gamelan Degung.
Sundanese Gamelan Degung.

Gamelan Degung is a Sundanese musical ensemble that utilises a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of pelog scale.

[edit] Instruments

The instrumentation of gamelan degung is quite flexible. It may include:

  • Bonang/kolènang: two rows of seven small bulbous gongs. It differs from its Javanese counterpart in that the rows are each placed on either side of the player.
  • Saron/peking: a high-pitched bronze metallophone with fourteen keys.
  • Panerus: another bronze metallophone, similar to the peking but pitched an octave lower.
  • Jengglong: six bulbous gongs suspended from the same frame.
  • Goong ageung: a large gong.
  • A set of kendang, consisting of one large and two small double-sided drums.
  • Suling degung: a four-holed bamboo flute.
  • Gambang: a wooden xylophone.

In classical degung, the bonang serves as a conductor for the whole ensemble. Except in certain modern compositions, it is rarely absent.

Languages