TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Our cultural dancers are accompanied by a variety of traditional musical instruments. The musical instruments used in the traditional Malay music are classified into four categories they are Aerofons, Chordophones, Idiophones and Membranophones. Aerofons is a wind instrument for example is serunai. While chordophones is a stringed instruments which are either plucked or bowed such as Gambus. Next is an idiophone a percussive instrument which are struck or shaken.  Membranophones are the drums and get their name from the skin or membrane which is stretched over the instrument to produce its sound when struck.  Long before the invention of modern tele-communication devices, drum or rebana were used as a way to convey massages from one area to another area.

SERUNAI

This is a Malay reed wind instrument, with a quadruple reed made from rice stalk. The body has 7 front finger holes and 1 at the back. Circular breathing technique is used so that once a melody is started it does not stop until the tune ends.

GAMBUS

The gambus is the most common lute found in a variety of styles in Malay folk music as well as syncretic music such as ghazal. It is also used to accompany song and dance in Sabah. Originating from the Middle East, the Malaysian version uses 9 to 12 wire strings which are plucked. There are two types of gambus in use, the Gambus Hadramaut and Gambus Hijaz.

Percussion instruments are the largest and most important instruments in Malay traditional music. They can be divided into two main sections - tuned and untuned instruments. Tuned instruments can be divided into two types they are instruments which have a basic structure of a set of different sized gongs and instruments which resemble the xylophone. These two types of instruments are classified as idiophones, in which sound is produced as a result of the vibrations made by the instruments itself. There are also idiophones which are classified as untuned example of cing, a type of cymbal.

REBAB

The rebab is the most important bowed lute in Malays folk music. It is the main melodic instrument in the mak yong and is used to accompany storytelling in Kelantan. It has 2 or 3 strings, running over a movable bridge. The rebab is held upright on a short spike and played using a wooden bow with nylon strings. The 2 stringed rebab is found only in the context of the wayang kulit (shadow theatre).

GONG SET

These groups of gongs include kempul and gong agung which are used to mark the phrase of the melody.

On the other hand, untuned instruments are made up of drums which come in different sizes and shapes, and are classified as membranophones. Membranophones are instruments which produce sound as a result of the vibration of skin which is mounted on the frame of the drum. Actually, the classification of idiophones and membranophones is not very important because it is only a classification of the instrument structure. For a normal listener, the classification based on the sound which is heard when an instrument is played is more relevant.

SARON

A steel xylophone with 6 steel keys which are placed on a wooden resonator. There are two sizes, saron barong, which plays the main melody, and saron pekin which is smaller and has a high pitch. A wooden version of this is called a gambang kayu.