Jegog is Jembrana’s traditional musical instrument. This instrument consist several sizes of bamboo tubes that are lined up inside a wooden frame. The name of Jegog its self is taken from the biggest instrumental component named Jegogan. Since Jegog is made of Bamboo, it offers something different from most of Balinese musical instruments that are made of metal.

Many people love watching and listening to it. Moreover, when there is a Jegog Mebarung show, a battle of Jegog that is conducted by 2 up to 3 groups in which the groups beat their bamboo in turn, the clapping hand of applauses can be heard during the show. In Jegog Mebarung the who get louder claps is the winner.

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Gambuh, a classic dance drama that now is in the edge of extinction, is considered as the ancestor of all Balinese dances. All dance-technique originates in its movement, all scales and melodies from its peculiar gamelan. It is so rare that a Balinese may never see a gambuh performance throughout his life.

The origin of gambuh can be traced back to 1007 A.D. the first mention of gambuh appears in a lontar, palm leave manuscript, with a Candra Sengkala (a method of expressing time), in the year of 929 Caka or 1007 A.D. This lontar mentions that in 1007 A.D. King Udayana Warmadewa of Bali had married a Javanese princess from Daha, east Java, named Cri Gunapriya Dharmapatni. When the princess went to Bali, in her entourage she brought Javanese dancers and artist with her. According to the lontar, King Udayana was very fond of Javanese dancing and in this period developed the dance known as gambuh, here is an excerpt from the lontar:

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The word Gamelan is a Balinese term for “orchestra”; there are many types of Gamelan in Bali. Gamelan is a generic term, and there is dozen or more completely different kind of ensembles. Gamelan is a percussion-dominated musical ensemble.

The instruments that are used in a Gamelan ensemble usually consist of

Gangsas
Metallophones that look like xylophones, called gangsas, consist of a carved often gilded, frame containing bamboo resonator over which a series of bronze keys are suspended by hide lacing. The bronze keys are hit with little wooden hammers which causes bamboo resonators below the keys to vibrate. They may have four to fourteen keys and are grouped in matching pairs according to size and number of key. After the keys have been hit by the hammer in the right hand, the left hand immediately grasps the key to stop the sound merging in the next note.

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