Saron Musical Instruments

Labels: , on

>

Saron (be called ricik) is one of the gamelan instruments who including balungan. In one set of gamelan usually have 4 saron, and all have versions pelog and slendro. Saron produce a tone one octave higher than demung, with a smaller physical size. Beater saron usually made of wood, with a shape like a hammer.
How to hit it, there is the usual appropriate tone, the tone returns, or beating alternately between saron saron 1 and 2. Fast or slow and hard or weak in noise of saron, depends on the command of the drum and the type gendhingnya. Example In describing the condition of war for, Saron sounded loud and fast. In a nuanced gendhing military Gati, Saron sounded slow but hard. And when accompanying the song, saron  sounded softly.

In the playing of saron, right hand hit wilahan / sheet metal with a beater saron, then, the left hands push of wilahan that knocked  previously to eliminate the buzz is left of the previous tone. This technique is called memathet (root word: pathet = pressed)

According to the size and function, there are three types of Saron :
  1. Demung
  2. Saron Barung
  3. Saron Successor (Pecking)
from left: Demung, Saron Barung, and Saron Successor  (Peking).
Demung

Saron of  large size and have octave middle. Demung play gendhing balungan  in a limited territory. In pinjalan technique, two demung and slenthem to form of   interrelated songs. Typically, one device has one or two gamelan demung. But there is a gamelan in the palace which has more than two demung.

Saron Barung
Saron of medium sized and have octave high. As demung, saron barung balungan play in a limited territory. In the techniques play, two saron barung playing a song intertwine to establish a fast-paced. A set of gamelan has one or two suggestions barung, but there are more and gamelan has two saron barung. A gamelan device can have a bladed puppets saron nine. As its name indicates, this saron played especially for the ensemble accompanies the puppet show.

Saron Successor (Pecking)

Saron smallest sized and have highest octave. Saron successor or peking  plays with duplicate or quadruplicate balungan song. The song is also trying to decipher the song peking balungan in the context of the song gendhing.