Large double-headed barrel drum in the Central Javanese Gamelan. It is about 74 cm long and 40 cm wide and is suspended in a decorative wooden frame. The heads are tacked to the shell and one head is beaten with a heavy mallet. It emphasizes dramatic effects in some gamelan works, especially in the theatre and plays the role of the ...
Article
David Morton
In Thailand, the generic name for drum. Several major types are used in modern Thai classical and folk music. The klawng khaek is a long double-headed cylindrical drum made of hardwood. The two goatskin or calfskin heads are laced together with leather thongs. The drum is played with the hands and used in pairs, the two drums in a pair differing in pitch. The klawng khaek is played in percussion and string ensembles for informal occasions, the taphon (barrel drum) being substituted for specific formal functions. It is also played with pi chawa (oboe) to accompany Thai fencing and boxing. The klawng khaek ensemble formerly consisted of two klawng khaek drums, the pi chawa and a khawng meng (gong); it was probably used for sombre ceremonies, such as funerals. The klawng khaek is sometimes known as klawng chawa (‘Javanese drum’).
The klawng malayu (‘Malaysian drum’) is a cylindrical drum similar to the ...
Article
Terry E. Miller
[bin bādy]
In Cambodia, the primary classical ensemble played at court ceremonies, some Buddhist festivals, to accompany the large shadow theatre, masked drama, and dance drama. Both the ensemble and its name are closely related to similar ensembles in Thailand (piphat) and Laos (sep nyai/piphat). Ensembles vary in size from minimal (five instruments) to large. A basic ensemble consists of ...
Article
Alastair Dick
Drone chordophone of north Indian classical music. This 19th-century instrument, whose name means literally ‘musical club’, lacks the neck and resonator of the South Asian tambūrā (of which it was designed as an easily transportable form), but has a swelling, hollow, club shape; it is about 37 cm long.
M. Taylor...