The lyrics of “My Way” tell the story of a man who is nearing death, and introspectively looks back at his life whilst fictionally speaking to a friend who is sitting next to him. The man’s personality as described in the song involves a strong-willed, confident and determined man who...

Hadrah is a type of drum ensemble used primarily as accompaniment to Islamic religious praise singing. It consists of frame drums and a gong. 8 to 10 rebana are used with one gendang peningkah, the main difference between the two being the absence of jingles in the gendang. A specific repertoire of...

In Bali, metallophone with suspended keys, each key having a bamboo tube resonator. It comprises 4 to 7 keys. It is played with a single hammer or mallet. Its relative pitch range lies below that of the peñacah and above that of the jègogan. In Java, bamboo tube xylophone, and having no resonator. It can...

Angklung Each angklung consists of two or three bamboo tubes of differing lengths tuned in octaves. The tubes are mounted in a frame so that a slot on each tube aligns into a cross-piece that strikes the tube when the instrument is shaken. Traditionally, large numbers of them are shaken for ceremonial...

Seruling is an aerophone classification. It is made from bamboo. Seruling comes in a few types of designs and shapes which has different numbers of holes. This instrument is to be an indigeneous instrument of this region. It almost found everywhere in Southeast Asia. In caklempong that flourishes in...

The name marawis — referring to a family of percussion-based music originally from Yemen — comes from one of its component instruments; notably, a small drum. This music has penetrated many parts of Indonesia, including East Java, South Sumatra and North Sulawesi. In Indonesia, marawis has mixed with...

Rebana is a name that is used for several types of drums that are used in Islamic devotional music such as zikir, dance music, and other types of traditional Malay song and in dance Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore. It typically has a resonant sound reminiscent of the Middle Eastern tanbur and is...

Here is a well-developed, powerful, and beautiful music that is completely outside the western idea of what music could and should be, traditionally learned quite naturally and a part of everyday life, “in much the same way villagers learn to sow and harvest crops, prepare a meal, or build a...

Western enthusiasts have often compared the static yet constantly moving state of gamelan music to a river running in its course, or to “moonlight poured over the field”. Gamelan is a form of unique and exotic music originating in the islands of Indonesia in South East Asia. The traditional...

About Indonesian Gamelan Bush Beats Gamelan (You Can Too!) A gamelan is an Indonesian ensemble normally composed primarily of percussion. These orchestras typically include tuned gongs, bronze kettles, bronze metallophones, bamboo xylophones, drums, cymbals, flutes, and bowed string instruments. While the...