The panerusan instruments or elaborating instruments are one of the divisions of instruments used in the gamelan. Instsead of the rhythmic structure provided by the colotomic instruments, and the core melody of the balungan instruments, the panerusan instruments play variations on the balungan. They are usually the most difficult instruments to learn in the gamelan, but provide the most opportunity for improvisation and creativity in the performer. Gamelan - Indonesian Embassy in Canberra A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesian origin typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. ... The balungan (Javanese: skeleton, frame) is sometimes called the core melody of a gamelan composition. ...

Panerusan instruments include the gendér, suling, rebab, siter/celempung, bonang, and gambang. The female singer, the pesindhen, is also often included, as she sings in a similar fashion to the instrumental techniques. As these include the only wind instruments, string instruments, and wooden percussion instruments found in the gamelan, they provide a timbre which stands out from most of the gamelan. A Gendér is a type of metallophone which is used a lot in Balinese and Javanese Gamelan music. ... Suling Suling is an Indonesian flute made out of bamboo used in gamelan ensembles. ... The rebab (also rebap, rabab, rababah, al-rababa) is a bowed string instrument which originated in Afghanistan, no later than the 8th century, and was spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East. ... Celempung at the Indonesian Embassy in Australia The siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan. ... Bonang of Bali The bonang is an instrument used in the gamelan. ... A gambang is a metallophone-like percussive instrument of Indonesian origin, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones in a Western metallophone; it forms part of a gamelan ensemble. ... A sindhen (or, more properly, pesindhen; also called waranggono) is a female solo singer who sings with a gamelan. ... A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... A percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... In music, timbre, also timber (from Fr. ...

The notes that the panerusan instruments play are largely in melodic formulas known as cengkok and sekaran. These are selected from a huge collection which every performer carries in his head, based on the patet, mood, and traditions surrounding a piece. Cengkok (old orthography: chengkok) are patterns played by the elaborating instruments in the Javanese gamelan. ...

References

• Mantle Hood. The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Patet in Javanese Music. New York: Da Capo, 1977. Pages 11-12.