“Gamelan is comparable to only two things, moonlight and flowing water...mysterious like moonlight and always changing like flowing water.” That famous description of gamelan was written by the ethnomusicologist Jaap Kunst.Gamelan is a traditional orchestra, found throughout Indonesia, consisting primarily large and small gongs and xylophone-like instruments, usually made of bronze and teak. There are many types of gamelan from different regions. Javanese, Balinese, and Sundanese are the most famous. The Javanese gamelan also includes drums of various sizes, a fiddle-like instrument called rebab, zither, and bamboo flute. Javanese gamelan music accompanies traditional ceremonies in Java such as weddings, and is also used in shadow puppet performances. Although Javanese gamelan is an extremely sophisticated art form that dedicated players spend years to master, playing gamelan at beginning levels is surprisingly easy and fun. A group of beginners can try playing simple pieces after just a few minutes of instruction.