Listen to the Gambang
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the Gambang makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the Gambang belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like instrument used in Indonesian gamelan and kulintang ensembles. It has wooden bars (wilah) in contrast to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang gangsa, is a similar instrument made with metal bars.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does the Gambang sound like?
Listen to 2 recordings on this page. As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the Gambang?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.212).
Sources & credits
- Gambang Salendro koleksi Jurusan Karawitan ISBI Bandung by Salomo Christian Hutajulu – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Gambang Pelog koleksi Jurusan Karawitan ISBI Bandung by Salomo Christian Hutajulu – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q2631432 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Gambang (instrument) – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by David Adam Kess – CC BY-SA 4.0