The genggong is a kind of
jew's harp used in the
music of Bali
The Music of Bali, Bali is an Indonesian island that shares in the gamelan and other Indonesian musical styles. Bali, however, has its own techniques and styles, including kecak, a form of singing that imitates the sound of monkeys. In additi ...
. It consists of a wooden frame and tongue cut from a single piece of the leaf stem of the
sugar palm. The left end is held firmly against the cheek, while a string tied to the right end is jerked rhythmically to set the tongue into motion (in contrast to other jaw harps in which the tongue itself is plucked to produce sound). Different
harmonics are produced by pronouncing different vowel sounds.
Very much a
folk instrument
A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music.
Overview
The ...
, genggong was traditionally played only as a solo instrument or with small numbers of other genggong as informal entertainment. Since the 1930s, however, genggong has often featured in gamelan genggong, a larger ensemble of several genggong together with
suling
The suling or seruling ( Sundanese: ) is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in western Java, Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asian, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Mal ...
and percussion instruments.
Further reading
{{Plucked idiophones
Idioglot guimbardes and jaw harps
Indonesian musical instruments