gamelan

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

Percussion ensemble of 15 to 20 players using mainly tuned knobbed gongs and keyed metallophones found in Indonesia (especially Java and Bali) and Malaysia. Most modern gamelan are tuned to a five-note or seven-note system. Gamelan music is performed as an accompaniment for dance and theatre.

Modelled on the French tricolour, the vertical stripes represent liberty and revolution. The almost square proportions of the flag are unusual. Effective date: 23 January 1831. >>