MUSIC IN INDONESIA

Sapeh instrument from kalimantan

Indonesia is home to hundreds of forms of music, and music plays an important role in Indonesia’s art and culture. ‘Gamelan’ is the traditional music from central and east Java and Bali.‘Dangdut’ is very popular style of pop music is which is accompanied with by a dance style. This style first came into being in the 1970s and became a fixture of political campaigns. Other forms of music include the Keroncong with its roots in Portugal, the soft Sasando music from West Timor and Degung and Angklung from West Java, which is played with bamboo instruments. [Source: Embassy of Indonesia]

Indonesians like to sing. Political candidates are often required to sing at least one song during campaign rallies. Soldiers often finish their barrack dinners with a song. Buskers perform at some traffic intersections in Yogyakarta. High ranking generals and politicians and even the president have released CDs of their favorite songs, with a few original songs.

Examples of Indonesian music include Javanese and Balinese gong-chime orchestras (gamelan) and shadow plays (wayang), Sundanese bamboo orchestras (angklung), Muslim orchestral music performed at family events or celebrations of Muslim holidays, trance dances (reog) from East Java, dramatic barong dances and monkey dances performed for tourists in Bali, Batak puppet dances and horse puppet dances from South Sumatra, Lontar leaf mandolin-playing singers from Roti, and dances performed for ritual and life-cycle events by Indonesia's many ethnic groups from the outer islands. All of these arts use costumes and musical instruments produced locally, the most complex of which are the Balinese barong costumes and the metalworking of the gamelan orchestra. [Source: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

In several regions of Indonesia, music leans more heavily toward rhythm than melody, though melodic elements are not entirely absent. Ensembles across the outer islands tend to be simpler than those associated with courtly cultures of central Indonesia, and they are closely tied to local rituals and dances. These performances often highlight percussive textures as their dominant feature. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

Ambonese and Music From All Over Indonesia

Musicians playing a lute, flute and stick zithe on an 8th century bas-relief at Borobudur Temple, Central Java

Batak musicians perform on a two-stringed lute (hasapi), played in a quick, plucked style similar to a mandolin. Their songs follow a lively tempo typical of folk music. This pattern appears across much of Indonesia, where people frequently play guitars or lutes while singing. Among the Bugis in rural villages and small towns of South Sulawesi, group singing accompanied by two-stringed plucked lutes has become a popular pastime. Some groups rehearse and refine their performances to the point that they are invited to play at special events. In Sumba, musicians play lutes and mouth harps while others provide vocals. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

The city of Ambon in the Maluku archipelago developed a distinctive form of folk singing that incorporates ukuleles, producing a recognizable “islander” sound. This Ambonese style has gained international attention, appearing in productions such as “Steeling around the World Hawaiian Style.”

The Ambonese are famous throughout Indonesia for their Western-style singing. Local Ambonese songs and singers are popular nationwide. Many of Indonesia's leading pop stars and musical groups are of Christian-Ambonese origin. In the Netherlands, Ambonese soloists and bands have gained recognition beyond the boundaries of the exile community.

Kinds of Traditional Indonesian Music

Siteran groups are small street ensembles that play the same musical pieces played by gamelans. They usually include a zither, singers, drum and a large end-blown bamboo tube that is used like a gong. Tandak Gerok is a style of performance practiced in eastern Lombok that combines music, dance and theater. Musicians play flutes and bowed lutes and vocalists imitate the sounds of the instruments. [Sources: Rough Guide to World Music]

Mournful Sundanese "kecapi" music has origins which can be traced back to the early civilizations that lived in this part of Java. The music is named after a lute-like instrument called the kecap, which has a very unusual sound. The Sundanese are regarded as expert instrument makers who get a good sound out of almost anything. Other traditional Sundanese instruments include the “suling”, a soft-tines bamboo flute, and the “angklung”, a cross between a xylophone and made from bamboo.

Indonesia is also the home of “ning-nong” bamboo orchestras and rapid fire choruses known as monkey chants. Degung is a calm, atmospheric style of music that with songs about love and nature set to gamelan instruments and bamboo flute. It is often used as background music.

Gamelan

The Gamelan is the national instrument of Indonesia. A miniature orchestra, it is an ensemble of 50 to 80 instruments, including tuned percussion comprised of bells, gongs, drums and metallophones (xylophone-like instruments with bars made from metal instead of wood). The wood frames for the instrument are usually painted red and gold. The instruments fill up an entire room and are usually played by 12 to 25 people. [Sources: Rough Guide to World Music]

Gamelans are unique to Java, Bali and Lombok. They are associated with court music and often accompany Indonesia's favorite traditional form of entertainment: shadow puppet plays. They are also played at special ceremonies, weddings and other major events.

Highly stylized in movement and costume, dances and the “wayang” drama are accompanied by a full “gamelan” orchestra comprising xylophones, drums, gongs, and in some cases string instruments and flutes. Bamboo xylophones are used in North Sulawesi and the bamboo “angklung” instruments of West Java are well- known for their unique tinkling notes which can be adapted to any melody. [Source: Embassy of Indonesia]

Traditional Indonesian Music and Islam

Ingo Stoevesandt wrote in his blog on Southeast Asian music: Unlike some Muslim countries where music as a part of the liturgy is prohibited, in Java the Gamelan sekati had to play six days for the sekaten celebration, which is a holy week to the remembrance of prophet Muhammad. As the name already indicates this ensemble was inherited by Islamic function.

“Islam was was supportive for the further development of the Karawitan (gamelan music). This support started early: In 1518 the sultanate Demak was founded, and the local Wali, namely Kangjeng Tunggul, decided to add pitch number seven to the scale which already existed named Gamelan laras pelog. This additional pitch named “bem” (maybe coming from Arabian “bam”) later lead to the fixed new tone system “pelog” with seven pitches . This “pelog” tone system is also the tuning system requested by the sekati ensemble which is still one of the most favorite in Java until today.

If we keep in mind that the main part of missionaries for the Islam have not been Arabic but Indian traders than it seems obvious that the practiced Islam of Indonesia seems to be a syncretism of Buddhistic, Brahmanistic and Hindu elements. This also means that we find influences of Arabian music even outside of Karawitan. In West Sumatra, even outside the moschee, people like to sing pieces in Arabian style called kasidah (Arabic: “quasidah”), learn those pieces in school and try to play the five stringed lute gambus which is better known as the “Oud” of Persia.

We find the ceremonials zikir (Arabic:”dikr”) and the musical conventions sama which seem to mirror the Sufi trance ceremonies of Turkey and Persia. Here we find the ”indang”. Consisting of 12 to 15 members, one singer (tukang diki) repeats the religious calls while the others correspond with the originally Arabian drums rabana. The rabana is one of several instruments imported by the Islam. Another is the fiddle rebab which is a part of the Gamelan until today. In both, voicing and instrumentation, we find the typical ornamentations of what we call “Arabesque” but not the true Arabian microtonality.

Islam did not only bring instruments or musical norms to Indonesia, it also changed the musical situation with the daily Muezzin call, with the recitations of the Koran and its impact on the character of official ceremonies. It detected the power of local and regional traditions like the Gamelan and the shadow puppets and inspired and changed them with their own musical forms and traditions.

Bamboo Instruments in Indonesia

Bamboo is widely available across Indonesia and serves as an important material for musical instruments. Even in natural groves, bamboo produces distinctive sounds when stirred by the wind. Bamboo xylophones form the basis of gamelan gambang in Bali, while slit bamboo drums and other instruments appear in various regions. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

In Sumatra, ensembles may feature grouped bamboo or wooden xylophones with a lighter, more resonant tone than metal instruments. In Kalimantan, musicians create complex mouth organs from bundled bamboo pipes, played through a carved mouthpiece. Bamboo zithers and flutes are also widespread, with regional variations found from Sumatra to West Papua. In some areas, flutes are enhanced with flared ends made from tightly coiled leaves to amplify resonance.

The bamboo angklung consists of several tubes mounted within a frame, each producing a different pitch when shaken. Players hold the frame in one hand and shake it with the other, contributing individual notes to a collective melody. Angklung ensembles may include multiple instruments mounted on a larger frame, accompanied by xylophones and gongs. This tradition is especially associated with western Java.

In the Banyumas region, folk music incorporates a variety of bamboo instruments, including flutes and angklung. Calung, a more recent development, blends bamboo instrumentation with elements from imported musical traditions. As a popular and evolving genre, it integrates influences from Java, as well as Portuguese, Western, and Indian sources. Some ensembles include bamboo zithers and flutes alongside maracas, cymbals, and tambourines, all structured around the five-tone framework characteristic of gamelan music.

Angklung

According to UNESCO: Angklung is an Indonesian musical instrument consisting of two to four bamboo tubes suspended in a bamboo frame, bound with rattan cords. The tubes are carefully whittled and cut by a master craftsperson to produce certain notes when the bamboo frame is shaken or tapped. Each Angklung produces a single note or chord, so several players must collaborate in order to play melodies. Traditional Angklungs use the pentatonic scale, but in 1938 musician Daeng Soetigna introduced Angklungs using the diatonic scale; these are known as angklung padaeng. The Angklung is closely related to traditional customs, arts and cultural identity in Indonesia, played during ceremonies such as rice planting, harvest and circumcision. The special black bamboo for the Angklung is harvested during the two weeks a year when the cicadas sing, and is cut at least three segments above the ground, to ensure the root continues to propagate. Angklung education is transmitted orally from generation to generation, and increasingly in educational institutions. Because of the collaborative nature of Angklung music, playing promotes cooperation and mutual respect among the players, along with discipline, responsibility, concentration, development of imagination and memory, as well as artistic and musical feelings. [Source: UNESCO]

Angklung was inscribed in 2010 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It and its music are central to the cultural identity of communities in West Java and Banten, where playing the Angklung promotes the values of teamwork, mutual respect and social harmony. Safeguarding measures are proposed that include cooperation between performers and authorities at various levels to stimulate transmission in formal and non-formal settings, to organize performances, and to encourage the craftsmanship of making Angklungs and sustainable cultivation of the bamboo needed for its manufacture.

Edward Herbst wrote in the International Encyclopedia of Dance: Angklung today is a four-tone ensemble consisting of smaller bronze-key gangsa metallophones, kempur (small gong), rincik (cymbals), and suling (bamboo flute), associated with ceremonial events, especially cremation rituals. The genre was traditionally part of village ceremonies rather than performances of the royal courts. This Angklungan (“in the style of angklung”) substituted a bamboo xylophone (grantangan) for the ancient shaken kocok (bamboo tube rattles of an older angklung style), in which each instrument consisted of several tubes playing a single tone in multiple octaves. John Coast mistakenly refers to the instrument as klengtangan in his book. Grantangan is more generally associated with the dance, Jogéd Bumbung. Also altering the familiar angklung ensemble are a larger gong and kempur, and larger drums (kendang gegupekan), and the rincik are replaced by larger cengceng. [Source: Edward Herbst, International Encyclopedia of Dance, 1998]

This Angklungan was used to accompany Oleg, a newly choreographed coquettish dance for two twelve-year-old girls, drawing from classical Legong choreography. Today, Oleg most often refers to the well-known Oleg Tumulilingan, but since early kebyar times it has referred to practically any kebyar dance to differentiate it from classical legong (Oleg means “not leg”). Today, there are some new creations (kréasi baru) referred to as Angklung Kebyar, except that bamboo instruments are rarely included. In 1952, this combination of angklung, grantangan and kebyar styles was itself Peliatan’s experiment. And within this piece some listeners will recognize a section imitating the dance Margapati.

Percussive Music in Indonesia

In eastern Indonesia, iron gongs frequently replace the more refined bronze versions. Manufactured in a port town on Sumba from repurposed 50-gallon oil drums, these affordable instruments are widely sold across nearby islands. Despite their modest origins, they produce a sufficiently resonant tone and commonly form the rhythmic foundation for music throughout the Lesser Sunda Islands and beyond. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

On Lombok, the Sasak people maintain a largely percussive form of gamelan. This traditional ensemble features drums, cymbals, large gongs, and gong chimes. Male dancers both perform and play, carrying long, heavy drums strapped over their shoulders. Their performances combine displays of physical strength and agility with rhythmic competition. Despite the competitive aspect, the musicians maintain tight coordination, interlocking their rhythms as they move through dramatic poses. The intensity of the performance builds steadily until it culminates with the resonant strike of a gong. This energetic fusion of music and dance remains one of the few surviving traditional expressions of Sasak culture. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

In northern Sumatra, diverse and sophisticated drumming traditions continue to thrive. Among the Toba Batak, ensembles feature a musician who plays a set of five long drums melodically, while another performer adds rhythmic accents on a sixth drum. This rare tuned drum set, known as the taganing, is almost unique in the world. Today, however, such performances are increasingly uncommon. Many Batak people believe that the sounds of these drums summon ancestral spirits, a notion that has contributed to their decline, particularly as most Toba Bataks now follow Protestant Christianity and have moved away from earlier animistic beliefs. Nevertheless, this tradition represents only one example of the broader drum-centered musical heritage found among coastal communities in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and the Riau Islands, reflecting a strong percussive orientation within Malay cultural groups.

Drums in Indonesia

Drumming plays a central role in many of the Lesser Sunda Islands east of Bali. In Timor, Tetum women perform dances while beating small drums tucked under one arm. The rhythm of the drums shapes their movements, giving their bodies a gently curved posture as they move with controlled grace. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

On Sumba, drums of varying tunings accompany ceremonies such as funerals, sometimes sounding continuously for days. Sumbanese communities also engage in competitive drumming events, occasionally incorporating instruments acquired from other islands. Among their most unusual instruments is a two-toned drum found only in Sumba, constructed with deer hide stretched across both ends. Inside its body, roughly one hundred wooden wedges are driven inward and secured with leather cords. By loosening or tightening these wedges, players adjust the tension of the drumheads, thereby altering the instrument’s pitch. These distinctive drums, bristling with protruding wedges, resemble porcupines and are often suspended from trees or stands. They are struck with considerable force, sometimes by women, producing powerful and resonant sounds.

In West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), distinctive drums take on both musical and symbolic importance. These instruments are typically hourglass-shaped, carved from wood, and fitted with drumheads made from cassowary skin. Sacred versions from the Lake Sentani region are used exclusively in secluded ceremonies held within men’s houses, inaccessible to outsiders. A carved band encircles the center of each drum, referred to locally as a “waist belt.” This feature symbolizes a similar belt worn by community leaders, believed to confer protective powers. Such symbolism underscores the deep connections between music, authority, and spiritual belief in Papuan societies.

Since the incorporation of West Papua into Indonesia, many indigenous communities have continued to contest their place within the nation. In this context, traditional authority figures and spiritual practices retain profound significance, as many people feel disconnected from the modern state and marginalized within it. Ritual life, particularly within men’s houses, remains highly secretive, and access is often restricted. Although anthropologists have documented certain aspects of these traditions, much of the music and its associated meanings remain concealed. The sounds of these drums, performed far from external audiences, stand apart from more public Indonesian ceremonial forms, preserving a sense of cultural autonomy and resistance.

Traditional Folk Music of Indonesia

Ingo Stoevesandt wrote in his blog on Southeast Asian music: Outside Karawitan (traditional gamelan music) we firstly meet another Arabian influence in the “orkes melayu”, an ensemble where the name already indicates the Malayan origin. This ensemble, consisting of every imaginable instrument ranging from Indian drums over electric guitars up to a small Jazz combo, happily mingles up traditional Arabic and Indian rhythms and melodies. It is quite as favourite as the actual Pop/Rock scene of Indonesia.

“The solo singing tradition tembang is rich and diverse allover Indonesia. The most usual are the male soli bawa, suluk and buka celuk, male unisono gerong, and the female unisono sinden. The repertoire knows more than ten poetical forms with different meters, numbers of syllables per verse and polyrhythmic elements.

“The folk music of Java and Sumatra still remains unresearched. It is so divers that most scientific approximations nearly scratched the surface. Here we find the rich treasure of the melodies lagu including the children songs lagu dolanan, the many theatralic and shamanic dukun dances, or the magic kotekan which finds its mirror in the Luong of the Thai in northern Vietnam. The folk music must be assumed as a cradle of the Gamelan ensemble and its music, as we find two singers, a zither and a drum here reproducing a gending, for which the Gamelan would need over 20 musicians to perform it.”

Vocal Music in Indonesia

A style of folk singing called 'tangis' ('to cry') is popular in Sumba. It may have evolved from the keening dirges that women traditionally sing for the dead. Keening sounds like a combination of crying and singing — a sort of rising and falling wail with an underlying tune. Sad ballads of loss, parables, or the lovelorn are accompanied by two-stringed lutes (jungga). [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

Some have compared this drone-like singing in Sumba and Roti to songs from eastern Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The peoples of these regions sing in a descending vocal pattern. A Sumbanese man remarked that songs of lamentation in Sumba might compare to those of the Yirrkala people of Arnhem Land. While the people of Sumba have never been seafaring to any extent, fishermen of Roti have long travelled far in their boats. Trepang (sea cucumbers), an Asian delicacy, were abundant in northern Australian waters and drew many Indonesians to Arnhem Land's shores in ancient times. As Sumba and Roti are relatively close to Australia and the people of Roti have long ventured to sea, such influences were possible.

In Flores, women perform a type of choral singing that is remarkably similar to that found in the Balkans. Indeed, some theorise that migrations of Balkan peoples in prehistoric times culminated in parts of eastern Indonesia. While this cannot be proven, it is possible that Europeans migrated to the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara Timur), bringing artefacts, types of song and musical instruments such as the lute. The fact that such ancient links are evident through music makes studying them all the more compelling.

Contemporary Music in Indonesia

Contemporary (and partly Western-influenced) theater, dance, and music are most lively in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, but less common elsewhere. Jakarta's Taman Ismail Marzuki, a national center for the arts, has four theaters, a dance studio, an exhibition hall, small studios, and residences for administrators. Contemporary theater (and sometimes traditional theater as well) has a history of political activism, carrying messages about political figures and events that might not circulate in public. [Source: everyculture.com]

Modern Indonesian composers blend traditional and modern elements. Many have produced innovative fusions that combine gamelan with Western classical, jazz, or pop influences. These compositions often incorporate electronic technology and digital tools, expanding the possibilities of musical expression. Such hybrid forms highlight the flexibility of gamelan and its ability to integrate with diverse musical traditions. Through these ongoing innovations, Indonesian music remains dynamic, reflecting both deep cultural roots and openness to global influences. [Source: “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006]

The Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival (JJF) is a multi-day, annually event held in metropolitan Jakarta the features top international and Indonesian jazz musicians. Indonesia also boasts some of the best rock and pop bands and singers. Bands like Nidji, Ungu, Slang, Peter Pan and singing celebrities like Rossa, Agnes Monica, Kris Dayanti, Pasha, Ari Lasso, and many others, never fail to create a sensation wherever they appear in Indonesia as also in Malaysia and Singapore.

Music, and Presidents in Indonesia

In his youth Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (President of Indonesia, 2004-2014) was a member of a band called Gaya Teruna. In 2007, he released his first music album entitled “My Longing for You,” a collection of love ballads and religious songs. The 10-song tracklist features some of the country's popular singers performing the songs. In 2009, he joined forces with Yockie Suryoprayogo under the name "Yockie and Susilo" releasing the album Evolusi. In 2010, he released a new third album entitled I'm Certain I'll Make It.” [Source: Wikipedia +]

After the release of his first album, CBC reported: “Taking a break from affairs of state, the president of Indonesia has explored affairs of the heart in a new album of pop songs released at a Jakarta gala. Following in the musical footsteps of world leaders like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has released an album called Rinduku Padamu (My Longing for You). The 10-track album is filled with romantic ballads as well as songs about religion, friendship and patriotism. While some of the country's most popular singers take care of the vocals on the album, Yudhoyono penned the songs, which date back to his taking office in 2004. [Source: CBC, October 29, 2007]

Joko Widodo (President of Indonesia, 2014-2024) is well known for his fondness for heavy metal music. According to The Economist, Jokowi owned a bass guitar signed by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, which was confiscated by Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). During a state visit in November 2017, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented Jokowi with a signed Master of Puppets vinyl box set. To comply with transparency rules, Jokowi paid approximately IDR 11 million (about US$800) from his personal funds to claim the record after it was declared a state asset. Jokowi has publicly expressed admiration for bands such as Metallica and Megadeth, as well as Lamb of God, Carcass, and Napalm Death. He once traveled to Singapore for a Judas Priest concert. In 2018, Megadeth’s lead singer Dave Mustaine invited Jokowi to attend the band’s concert in Indonesia; although he could not attend, Jokowi opened the event via a video greeting. Earlier, in November 2013, while serving as governor of Jakarta, he was seen attending the Rock in Solo festival dressed casually.

Music is a big part of elections. Campaigns in Indonesia are boisterous affairs that feature festive street rallies, parades, students revving up motorcycle engines, drum-beating dancers and masses of men, women and children, floats and singing contests—not serious discussion of issues. Candidates are often much more interested in drawing huge crowds rather than getting a specific message across so a premium is put on entertainment.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006; National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Library of Congress, Indonesia Tourism website (indonesia.travel), Indonesia government websites, Live Science, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated April 2026