Most of us, going to Bali means enjoying the stunning natural scenery, studying the history in museums, or shopping at Sukawati Art Market. But apparently, not only that, because Bali has a lot of interesting things that you can explore. Many people assume that one of the things that we can explore is Balinese traditional dance: its unique movements and also the musical instruments. In this article, we will review one of the musical instruments: Baleganjur.

Baleganjur 

Baleganjur is one of the Balinese gamelan ensembles. The word “Baleganjur” comes from two words, namely Bala which means troops or lines and Ganjur which means to walk. The name Balaganjur was gradually changed to Baleganjur which could be interpreted as a walking troop or line. In the world of Balinese art, this is associated with a set of people who walk while playing gamelan.

Baleganjur Gamelan was initially functioned as an accompaniment to Ngaben ceremonies or traditional marches, as well as religious events. Over time, the role of Baleganjur Gamelan has become increasingly widespread. At present, Baleganjur Gamelan is also used to send march to the art parade, sports parade, kite race, and even this gamelan is also often contested. 

The Baleganjur ensemble is a development of the bonang gamelan, both in terms of the instrumentation and composition of the songs. In one Baleganjur group, there are 10 instruments. Namely, 1 piece of kendang lanang, 1 piece of wadon, 4 pieces of reong (Dong, Deng, Dung, Dang), 2 ponggang (Dung, Dang), 8-10 cengceng, 1 kajar, 1 kempli, 1 kempur , 1 pair of gongs (lanang'wadon), and 1 fruit bende. 

Baleganjur produces sounds that are so thunderous, lively, noisy, reverberating and often jarring through the boundary space that can be heard from a distance. His voice can reach distances of up to three kilometers. The sounds of various instruments being played will sound beautiful, as if letting your imagination enjoy the melody. The players will sing cheerfuly. Strains that can also arouse your spirit to wiggle a little, dance to the music. 

If you want to listen directly to the thunderous sensation of Baleganjur's beautiful chanting, you can come at the Bali Arts Festival which is held every year. In this stage, you are not only Baleganjur's music that you hear. But a variety of traditional Balinese art is also performed with a lively atmosphere.