Gangsa: Indonesia musical instrument

A gangsa is a kind of metallophone that is used mainly in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. In the Balinese gong kebyar patterns, there are two versions of the musical instrument that are typically used; the smaller version, higher pitched and the larger version of the instrument. Each musical instrument is made up of many metal bars, each of the metal bars placed over an individual resonator. The bars are hit with a wooden panggul, each of them manufacturing a distinct pitch. Duration of the sound intensity and the timbre factors are commonly accomplished by damping the vibration of the bar with the fingers of the player’s free hand. As with other metallophone instruments in gong kebyar ensembles, the Balinese gong kebyar gangsas are performed in neighboring pairs with interlocking, rapid-tempo parts that intricate on the melody of a piece of music; these pairs of instrument are tuned to be discordant and generate certain wavelength of sympathetic vibrations to produce a shimmering tone that travels long distances. The musical instrument is analogous to the old gender and the saron.

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A gajah is also the name of a completely different version of the instrument that is indigenous to the cultures found in the mountain regions of the north Philippines. The gangsa of the northern Philippines is a single hand-held smooth-surfaced gong that has a narrow rim. A set of the instrument that is performed one gong per player, is made up of gangsa tuned to various notes, depending on the regional and local cultural choices. The number of this musical instrument in a set differs with the availability, and also depends on the tradition of a specific ethnic group of the Luzon Cordillera: Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc and so on.

Among the Kalinga people in the Cordillera region of the Luzon Island, the musical instrument is performed in two different ways. One way in which the instrument is played is known as ‘toppaya’ and the other way is known as ‘pattung’. In the toppaya pattern of playing the instrument, the players of the instrument plays the surface of the instrument with their bare hands while sitting down, with a single gangsa resting on the lap of each player. In the patting pattern of playing the musical instrument, a gangsa is suspended from the player’s left hand and played with the use of a padded stick that is held in the right hand of the player. In this style of performing the instrument, the players of the musical instrument are standing while they are playing the instruments, or they keep in step with the dancer while somewhat bending forward.