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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA |
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The musical instruments of peninsular Malaysia can be classified into four categories. Aerofons are wind instruments. Cordofons are stringed instruments which are either plucked or bowed. Idiofons are percussive instruments which are struck or shaken. Membranofons, the largest group, are the drums and get their name from the skin or membrane which is stretched over the instrument to produce its sound when struck. This site illustrates the various instruments, describes their construction, and allows you to hear the sounds of the instruments. Also included here are photographs of Balinese gongmakers at work, a pronunciation guide for pronouncing the names of the instruments in Bahasa Malay, and full bandwidth ".WAV" files of the instrument sounds for you to download. Finally, an illustrated explanation of the process used in recording the instruments and a short bibliography on Malaysian traditional music are included. |
