suling
| A bamboo vertical flute. Commonly used in Indonesia and the Philippines. “Suling” means flute in Javanese. Here we will introduce the suling used in Javanese gamelan. |
Performance
The name of this tune is”Pankr laras pelog pathet barang”
In this video, the suling is played with a gender barung, unlike in regularl performances with various instruments.
In contrast to other gamelan instruments, suling produces each phrase with free rhythm.
“Pankr” with normal ensemble instrumentation.
Range
Pitoch
The gamelan ensemble varies slightly in pitch from set to set. Similarly, even though the suling may appear to be of uniform length, its pitches subtly differ. Therefore, one selects and uses the most suitable suling for each gamelan set.
Play different scales on the suling.
Tones of laras pelog pathet nem
A short melody of laras pelog pathet nem
Tones of laras pelog pathet barong
A short melody of laras pelog pathet barong
A short melody of laras pelog pathet barong, close-up view
Instrument parts
Front side and back side. The pipe is made of bamboo.
Mouth piece
A thin rattan band is circled near a small hole.
End of pipe
From the side
From even closer
After removing a rattan band.
The gap between the pipe head and the belt serves as the passage for breath. Because of this, the angle of the lips does not need to be adjusted to produce sound.
Rattan band
