There are many styles and technical variations in gamelan music with particular regards to geography, ritual, and repertory, as Javanese gamelan music differs significantly from that of Balinese gamelan music. Instrumentation & Tuning Styles of Gamelan Music Gamelan ensembles and their music are considered by many Indonesians to be manifestations of the divine and are often associated culturally with spiritual mysticism. Some individual Gamelan sets are even designated for a single specific ritual or event and are played annually. The oldest known gamelan sets date back as far as the 12 th century, and are kept in the pavilions of these royal palaces, and are taken out to be played for special events such as a visit from a sultan or for the Muslim prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The term “gamelan” itself, refers to the collective set of instruments that are played cohesively by the ensemble. It would generally be played to accompany “ Wayang Kulit”, a type of Javanese shadow puppet theatre. This percussion ensemble based music genre dates back many centuries and in the past was only reserved for special ritualistic performances held at the two main royal courts of Java in the relatively smaller, and more traditional cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. In the bustling and modernistic capital city of Jakarta on the Indonesian island of Java, it is certainly not unusual to hear the sounds of Indonesian gamelan music being played loudly on the radio.
