Saron

NMM 9899. Sarong Demung in Laras Slendro. Largest member of saron group. Metallophone with seven large bronze bars placed over teakwood frame. Keys held in place by two pins inserted through holes in the bar and embedded in the frame. Decorated with flower and leaf pattern covered in gold leaf. Length: 114.6 cm. Mallet (tabuh) with long handle and large, oval-shaped wooden striker.Function:  The saron instruments play the basic or skeletal melody of the music—the balungan. This basic melody is an abstraction of the melody played by the elaborating instruments. Usually the notation for any piece of music will be limited to the part played by the saron instruments.Playing technique:  The saron instruments are played by striking the bar in its center with the oval end of the mallet and dampening the previous bar when the next is played. The player sits on the side with the pitches ascending to the right.