Listen to the suling
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the suling makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the suling belongs to the flutes (edge-blown): an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating – flutes, recorders, whistles and panpipes.
More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
The suling (Sundanese: ᮞᮥᮜᮤᮀ) is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asia, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Other flutes
More instruments from Indonesia
Frequently asked questions
What does a suling sound like?
Listen to 4 recordings on this page. As one of the flutes, its sound comes from the way an air jet is split on a sharp edge, setting the air column vibrating.
What type of instrument is the suling?
It is classified as flutes (edge-blown) (Hornbostel–Sachs 421.211.12).
Where does the suling come from?
The suling originates from Indonesia.
Sources & credits
- Suling Lubang Enam Laras Degung koleksi Jurusan Karawitan ISBI Bandung by Salomo Christian Hutajulu – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Suling Lubang Empat atau Suling Degung koleksi Jurusan Karawitan ISBI Bandung by Salomo Christian Hutajulu – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Suling CC50 by Railfans1107 – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Suling Tunggal by Railfans1107 – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q2997443 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Suling – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Ninehouse – Public domain