In classical degung, bonang conducts the whole ensemble and is therefore rarely absent, except in certain modern compositions. With a slight modification from Javanese one, bonang in gamelan degung is composed of two rows of seven horizontal bulbous gongs, each row is placed at the left- and right side of its player.
After the pangkat, a short lead notes given by bonang, kendang plays its role to accompany the ensemble entering the music. This introductory part is finalised by the sound of goong ageung (large gong) and the music is entering its main part. Starting from here, suling degung is played to give ornamentation to the melodic line which is played by the metallophones (saron and panerus) and bonang.
Degung developed in the small courts of Sunda and, to the present day, it is associated in the minds of the Sundanese with aristocratic rituals and traditions.
Its present instrumentation, with goong (a large hanging gong) and sulingdegung (a 4-hole bamboo flute which plays a prominent role in degung) is attributed to Pa Idi and colleagues of his generation, who began to be active around 1920.
Degung's core repertoire consists of roughly 60 pieces, many of which are closely linked through characteristic melodic (particularly cadential) and rhythmic patterns.
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