7 Famous Traditional Musical Instruments from Abroad

Kapanlagi.com - Indonesia is a country rich in culture. Starting from traditional clothing, traditional houses, traditional dances, to traditional musical instruments traditional. In this opportunity, we will discuss the types of traditional musical instruments that are characteristic of a certain cultural region. Despite the continuous development and modernization, the existence of traditional musical instruments is still widely appreciated by many people. In fact, some traditional musical instruments have been recognized internationally. Therefore, as Indonesian citizens, it is only right to be proud and preserve traditional musical instruments.

Now, are you one of those who are skilled or enjoy watching traditional musical instrument performances? The existence of traditional musical instruments has never faded with time. Besides being able to captivate those who listen to it, traditional musical instruments actually have many types that you can find. To continue preserving traditional musical instruments, here are a series of traditional musical instruments that exist in Indonesia. What are they? Let's directly find out.

1. Gamelan

Types of traditional musical instruments in Indonesia (credit: pixabay)

Gamelan is one of the most popular types of traditional musical instruments. This traditional musical instrument from Central Java is played by striking it with a mallet. Generally, gamelan is a set of traditional musical instruments that usually consists of gongs, kenongs, gambangs, celempungs, and several other accompanying musical instruments.

The uniqueness of this musical sound is that it tends to be soft, bringing a sense of tranquility to the soul. The existence of gamelan itself is known internationally. Of course, this is a source of pride for the Indonesian people.

2. Kolintang

Kolintang is one of the types of musical instruments that originated from Minahasa, North Sulawesi. This musical instrument is made of wood and produces sounds namely tong, ting, and tang (low tong, high ting, regular tang). Usually, kolintang is often found accompanying traditional ceremonies, dance performances, vocal accompaniment, and also music performances.

The kolintang musical instrument is played by striking it with a special stick. To produce a good sound, the end of the stick is usually covered with a cloth pad, similar to the Gamelan percussion instrument.

3. Angklung

Angklung (credit: pixabay)

Angklung is one of the next types of musical instruments that is equally popular. This bamboo musical instrument is played by shaking or swinging it. As a result, sound will come out due to the collision of bamboo pipes.

Angklung itself is known to originate from Sunda, which is "angkleung-angkleungan" that describes the body movements of Angklung players swinging along with the rhythm. Apparently, there are also many types of angklung that do not only originate from Sunda, but also from Bali, Banyuwangi angklung, and so on.

4. Drum

Furthermore, another famous traditional musical instrument is the drum. This musical instrument is made of wood with a hollowed center. Then, the hollow part is covered with animal skin. It is commonly played with hands or drumsticks.

Almost every region in Indonesia has drums with their own distinctive characteristics. Kendang is also one of the instruments in Central Javanese gamelan which has the main function of regulating the rhythm. You often encounter drums in music performances or Javanese and Balinese cultural events to accompany traditional songs.

5. Sasando

Sasando (credit: Wikimedia Commons

Furthermore, the traditional musical instrument that you need to know is sasando. This instrument is a characteristic of Rote, East Nusa Tenggara and it has a main part shaped like a long tube made of bamboo.

In the middle part of this stringed instrument, there is a circular shape from top to bottom. The strings on sasando are stretched on the tube from top to bottom and they are provided with frets. Sasando is played by plucking the strings.

6. Tifa

Tifa is one of the traditional musical instruments that originated from Maluku and Papua. This instrument, made of wood and hollowed out, is played by striking the end of the tifa to listen to the sound produced.

Aside from its classic shape, tifa produces unique and beautiful sounds, which not only Indonesian citizens love, but also tourists are amazed by this traditional musical instrument.

7. Aramba

Aramba is a type of traditional musical instrument originating from Nias, North Sumatra. Aramba is one of the musical instruments made of copper, brass, bronze, and nickel. This instrument is played by one person. The function of aramba is to carry the rhythm pattern.

The way to play this aramba musical instrument is simply by striking it using its own striking tool. The type of sound produced by aramba is an ideophone. Aramba is often found in religious activities, wedding ceremonies, and so on.

That is a type of traditional musical instrument from Indonesia that is quite well-known even overseas. Don't forget to continue preserving traditional musical instruments. Hopefully, it is useful.

(kpl/dtm)