Traditional Musical Instruments and How to Play Them

Baca Juga

Photo Source: Tegaraya.com

FEMUSIDO.com - Traditional musical instruments are instruments played for traditional music, where the sound comes from the vibrations of the instrument itself, not through electronic engineering.

Every traditional music will use a variety of traditional musical instruments. Of course, the musical instruments used in each region are also different.

This type of musical instrument, according to Gramedia, can be divided into several groups, such as wind instruments, percussion, strings, clapping, plucking and shaking.

1. Traditional plucked musical instruments

Plucked musical instruments consist of two elements, namely the plucked string and resonance to echo the plucked sound. The materials used are adjusted by each region.

Traditional plucked musical instruments include, sasando from Rote, kecapi from South Sulawesi, japen from Central Kalimantan, siter from East Java, sampe from East Kalimantan, guoto from Papua, and others.

2. Traditional stringed musical instruments

Second, there are traditional stringed musical instruments. Almost the same as plucked, there are two main elements in stringed musical instruments, namely the string that is rubbed and the resonance chamber for the friction sound.

Examples of traditional stringed musical instruments are keso and geso-geso from South Sulawesi, then tutuba from Central Sulawesi, and Betawi musical instruments, namely Tehyang. Also included is the rebab from Central Java.

3. Traditional percussion musical instruments

The next traditional musical instrument is the percussion one. Basically, this is a musical instrument of various shapes that when struck produces sound and when combined produces a certain musical sound.

There are many types of percussion instruments, and can be distinguished based on the type of instrument material. There are percussion instruments made from natural materials without any additions, such as bamboo or wood that resonates. Examples of this musical instrument are kentongan and rice pounding mortars.

Then there are wooden percussion instruments that have pitch, such as lado-lado and kolintang from Sulawesi, and gambang from Java. Then there are those that are added with supporting materials in the form of skin, such as drums and bedug, dolls from Bengkulu, gordang from North Sumatra, and tambua from West Sumatra.

Then, there are musical instruments made of metal, such as bande from Lampung, talempong from Minangkabau, and also gamelan instruments from Java and Bali, such as saron, kempul, bonang, gong, gender, and so on.

4. Traditional wind instruments

The fourth is a traditional wind instrument. This wind instrument will have a blow hole and a resonance chamber to sound the blow. The material of this musical instrument can be made of bamboo or natural materials.

Examples of musical instruments made from natural materials such as various types of flutes, namely saluang from West Sumatra, serangko from Jambi, triton shells from Papua, lalove from Central Sulawesi, flutes from Java, or tahuri from Maluku.

Then, there are wind instruments made from natural materials such as trumpets made of wood and also auxiliary materials, including serunai from West Sumatra, trumpets from West Java, and serune kalee from Aceh.

5. Traditional clapping musical instruments

The next example of a traditional musical instrument is one that is played by clapping. Generally, this musical instrument uses skin elements as the outer layer of the musical instrument. This skin is a source of vibration and is equipped with a resonance chamber for its sound.

Examples of traditional musical instruments that are clapped are drums and tifa. Then there is also a musical instrument from West Java, namely kerinding, which gives the impression of a wind instrument but is actually a clapping musical instrument.

6. Traditional rocking musical instrument

Lastly, there is a traditional musical instrument that is played by shaking it. This instrument is quite unique compared to other musical instruments. Examples of shaken musical instruments are angklung from West Java and maracas.

The traditional musical instruments above certainly have their own functions. There is a melodic function that is tasked with playing the notes of a song. For example, gambang and gender from Javanese gamelan.

Then, there is the rhythm function, which is responsible for the speed of the melody, as in gamelan musical instruments from Java, Bali and also Sunda. (*)