Agung

-The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the
Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a
supportive instrument in kulintang ensembles. The agung is also ubiquitous
among other groups found in Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Mindanao, Sabah,
Sulawesi, Sarawak and Kalimantan as an integral part of the agung orchestra.
DESCRIPTION: he agung is a large, heavy, wide-rimmed gong shaped like a kettle gong.
of the agung produces a bass sound in the kulintang orchestra and weighs between 13
and 16 pounds, but it is possible to find agungs weigh as low as 5 pounds or as high as
20 or 30 pounds each, depending on the metal (bronze, brass or iron) used to produce
them.
Though their diameters are smaller than the gandingans, at roughly 22 inches (560 mm)
to 24 inches (610 mm) in length, they have a much deeper turned-in takilidan (rim) than
the latter, with a width of 12 to 13 inches (330 mm) including the knob.
They are hung vertically above the floor at or a bit below the waist line, suspended by
ropes fastened to structures like strong tree limb, beam of a house, ceiling, or gong
stand.
The larger, lower pitched gong of the two is called the pangandungan by the
Maguindanao and the p'nanggisa-an by the Maranao. Played on the musician's right, it
provides the main part, which it predominantly played on the accents of the rhythmic
structure.
The smaller, higher pitched gong, the thicker of the two, is called the panentekan by the
Maguindanao and the p'malsan or pumalsan by the Maranao. Found on the players left,
it is mainly played on the weaker double and triple beats of the rhythmic structure, in
counterpoint to the pangandungan's part.
USES: the main use for the agung in Maguindanao and Maranao society is as a
supportive/accompanying instrument of an orthodox kulintang ensemble. Using basic
patterns and interlocking rhythms, a player would use the agung to complement the
melody played by the kulintang. The patterns players use are normally considered freer
than either the babendil or the dabakan; players could manipulate the patterns freely as
long as they conform, reaffirm,reinforce and even generate the rhythmic mode of the
piece. The length of the patterns themselves may vary depending on how they fit into the
melodic improvisation.Rapid style is useful especially during exhibition of playing skills.





Agung a tamlang
-The Agung a Tamlang is a type of Philippine slit drum made of hollowed out bamboo in
imitation of the real agung. Pitch is determined by the length and depth of the slit. The
agung a tamlang is used as practice for the real agung: players either use either one
agung a tamlang (hold it with one hand and using the other to strike it with a beater) or
using two agung a tamlangs where the other agung is held with ones feet.
Babendil
-The babandil is a single, narrow-rimmed Philippine gong used primarily as the
timekeeper of the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble.
DESCRIPTION: The babandil usually has a diameter of roughly one foot making it larger
than the largest kulintang gong and comparable to the diameter of the agung or
gandingan. However, unlike the gandingan or the agung, the babendil has a sunken boss
which makes the boss relatively non-functional. Because of their sunken boss, babendils
are instead struck either at the flange or the rim, using either bamboo betays or a strip
of rattan, producing a sharp, distinctive metallic clang and are sometimes considered
false gongs. In fact, this distinction makes the babendil classified as a bell in the
Hornbostel-Sachs classification (if it were struck at the boss, it would be considered a
gong.)
Babandils are normally made out of bronze but due to the scarcity of this metal in
Mindanao, most gongs, including the babendil are made out of more common metal
such as brass, iron and even tin-can.
USES: The babendil traditionally could be played by either genders. In wooden kulintang
ensembles, the kagul is usually substituted for the babendil part. Among the Tausug, the
Samal and the Yakan, their babendil-type instrument generally has gone into disuse
(Instead, tempo is kept in check using the highest gong on the kulintangan . Solembat is
term used by the Samal for the ostinato beat while the Yakan call that same beat,
nulanting.)while among the Tagbanwa, the babandil is used not only to keep the rhythm
of pieces but also as a song accompaniment as well.
Bandurria
-The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the cittern and the
mandolin, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in countries that were
once colonies of Spain.



Dabakan
-The dabakan is a single-headed[4] Philippine drum, primarily used as a supportive
instrument in the kulintang ensemble. Among the five main kulintang instruments, it is
the only non-gong element of the Maguindanao ensemble.
DESCRIPTION: The dabakan is frequently described as either hour-glass,
conical,tubular, or goblet in shape Normally, the dabakan is found having a length of
more than two feet and a diameter of more than a foot about the widest part of the
shell.The shell is carved from wood either out of the trunk of a coconut tree or the wood
of a jackfruit tree which is then hollowed out throughout its body and stem. The
drumhead that is stretched over the shell is made out of either goatskin, carabao
skin,deer rawhide, or snake lizard skin, with the last considered by many dabakan
practitioners as the best material to use. The drumhead is then fastened to the shell first
via small metal wire and then using two hoops of rattan very tightly to allow the rattan
sticks to bounce cleanly. Artists, especially the Maranao, would then carve the outside
of the shell with elaborate and decorative okkil patterns.
USES: The main use for the dabakan in Maguindanao and Maranao society is as a
supportive instrument in the kulintang ensemble,[5] keeping the tempo of the ensemble
in check[8] like the babendil. On most rhythmic modes, such as sinulog and duyog, the
dabakan enters after babandil but in tidto, where the babendil is absent, the dabakan
always starts the piece. The Maguindanao and the Maranao usually position the
dabakan to the right of the kulintang player, near the end of its frame, during a
traditional performance.
The dabakan could be used in other types of playing other than the ensemble. The
dabakan could be used as the accompaniment for the kutiyapi, a type of Philippine boat-
lute. The dabakan plays a major role in a type of playing known as Kasorondayong. In
the Maranao version, which is in recognition of their prince hero, Prince Bantogen, two
dbakan players face one another, standing behind their dabakans, striking them with
two slender bamboo sticks while playing an interlocking rhythm. Traditionally, the
dabakan is considered a masculine instrument by the Maranao and a feminine
instrument by the Maguindanao[6][9] but as a sign of the times, one could see both
men and women handling the dabakan.[5] In wooden kulintang ensembles, the
takemba, a bamboo zither of the Manobo, is usually substituted for the dabakan part.
The dabakan used as accompaniment of the kutiyapi
During older times, the bigger, longer double-headed dabakan,known as a
dadabooan,would be hung horizontally in the mosque (See Kendang, for smaller version
of this drum). An imam (spiritual leader) would hit the drum repeatedly announcing the
beginning of prayer time throughout the outerlying areas. As a




sign of the times, the dabakan in Mindanao have now been replaced by more modern
equipment such as a speakerphone
but the practice still continues in places like Sulawesi, where a mesigit, equivalent to
the dabakan, would be used for the same purpose.
Devil chase
The devil chase is a percussion instrument originating in Southern Asia and commonly
found in India and the Philippines. It is an idiophone made from a bamboo stalk split for
about half of its length, and the resulting fork vibrates when struck against the hand.
Rich humming noises are produced from the natural cracks in the bamboo, and a
musician can place their thumb over the tuning hole at one end of the instrument to
control the air to flow in and out while striking it, adding a characteristic buzzing sound.
The sound ranges from a hum to a roar, depending on size and playing technique. This
noise was used by early villagers to ward off the devil and evil spirits, thus giving it its
name.
Diwas
Diwas is a native bamboo wind instrument in the Philippines which is a variation of the
well-known panflutes or panpipes. It is made of bamboo with one of its end closed via
the node of the bamboo. It also does not have finger holes (or tone holes) which is
unlike popular aerophones like flutes that have finger holes or tone holes to play
different pitches on the instrument. But Diwas compensate on this by grouping pipes of
graduated length together. So to produce sound with varying pitch, you shift from one
pipe to another. In Kalinga, these individual pipes are known as Saggeypo which is why
Diwas is sometimes called as Saggeypo. Usually, the number of Saggeypos strung
together ranges from 5 to 8.
Gambang
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like
instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines in gamelan
and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical
metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang gangsa, is a
similar instrument made with metal bars.




Gandingan
The gandingan is a Philippine set of four large, hanging gongs used by the Maguindanao
as part of their kulintang ensemble. When integrated into the ensemble, it functions as
a secondary melodic instrument after the main melodic instrument, the kulintang.
When played solo, the gandingan allows fellow Maguindanao to communicate with each
other, allowing them to send messages or warnings via long distances. This ability to
imitate tones of the Maguindanao language using this instrument has given the
gandingan connotation: the talking gongs.
Gandingan a Kayo
The gandingan a kayo (translated means, wooden gandingan, or gandingan made of
wood) is a Philippine xylophone and considered the wooden version of the real
gandingan. This instrument is a relatively new instrument coming of age due to the
increasing popularity of the wooden kulintang ensemble, but unfortunately, there is
nothing traditional about it and they cannot be used for apad, communicating long
distances like the real gandingan.
Gungsa
Gungsa or gangsa are flat sided lipped gongs classified as of the suspended type, though
they are often played horizontally on the thighs. They are common in the Cordillera
highlands of Luzon in the northern Philippines. Most gungsa are brass although some
more recent ones, especially from the end of the 19th century, are cast iron. The iron
ones are generally considered inferior to the "gold" ones. Gungsa are endemic
throughout the Cordilleras in Luzon, the main island of the northern Philippines. They
seem to have been there for centuries, and some families still treasure family heirlooms
from 8 or 9 generations ago. These parts of the Philippines were not subdued by the
Spanish during their four century claim over the Philippines. Fukkien traders appear to
have been active in the Cordilleras before the Spanish imperium, and to have continued
through the Spanish attempts to rule. Current thinking is the Fukkien traders brought
the flat sided lipped gongs from China to sell to the Cordillera people who paid in gold.
Gungsa are usually found in sets of five or six, based on the pentatonic scale. They can
be tuned by an expert with a hammer. Sets of eight or more are also common, but are
still based on the pentatonic scale also thought to have been brought from China.
Current (2008) retail price in Baguio City for a new set of five in brass is about 78,000
pesos. The people of Mountain Province use gungsa during all major traditional
celebrations and its use does not seem in danger of being lost. In the more remote
barios of Kalinga Province, gungsa are still essential for all community celebrations,
unless someone has died recently, when the gungsa remain silent.

Methods of playing gungsa vary from tribe to tribe and can be quite intricate when
played by masters. Unlike the Southern Philippines, playing gongs in the Cordilleras is a
male duty. Girls are often taught to play gungsa at school, alongside the boys, but do
not play at community functions. They usually dance to the sound of the gungsa.
Hegelung
The hegelung is a wooden 2-stringed lute played by the Tboli, an animist ethnolinguistic
group of southern Mindanao in the Philippines. The instrument is tall and slender, with
nine frets. One string is used as a drone, and the other for melodic ornamentation.
Kagul
Also called tagutok (Maranao),[1] bantula or tagungtung (Bukidnon) and kuratung
(Banuwaen). A kagul, a Philippine bamboo scraper gong/slit drum of the Maguindanaon
people. The kagul is a type of Philippine bamboo scraper gong/slit drum of the
Maguindanaon and Visayans with a jagged edge on one side, played with two beaters,
one scarping the jagged edge and the other one making a beat. The Maguindanaon and
the Banuwaen use it in the rice paddies to guard against voracious birds, using the
sound it produces to scare them away. The Maguindanaon and the Bukidnon also use it
for simple dance rhythms during social occasions. The rhythms are usually simplistic in
nature, consisting of one rhythmic pattern sometimes combined with another. Use of
the kagul in the former way is no longer practiced.
Kalaleng
A kalaleng is a nose flute made from bamboo from the Philippines. Usually around two
feet in length a kalaleng has holes cut in the side, to be stopped by the fingers producing
the notes. The player closes one nostril with a bit of cotton, then forces the air from the
other into a small hold cut in the end of the tube. This instrument is found mostly in the
northern Philippines and is popular with all the native mountain population of the area.
It is a usually decorated with etched patterns. The instrument is popular with men and is
often used in courting.
Kendang
Kendhang (Javanese: Kendhang, Malay: Gendang, Tausug/Bajau Maranao: Gandang) is a
two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia. Kendang is one of the
primary instruments used in the Gamelan ensembles of Java, Bali and Terengganu, the
Malay Kendang ensemble as well as various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Malaysia,
Brunei, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic
groups.




Kolitong
A Kolitong is a bamboo polychordal tube zither from Bontok, Kalinga, Philippines with six
strings that run parallel to its tube body. The strings are numbered from one to six, from
lowest to highest pitch. The body acts as the instrument's resonator. The body may be a
whole tube or a half tube, in both cases the two ends of the body are closed by the
bamboo nodes. To help with the resonance of the instrument, holes are made on both
nodes and long cracks are made along the body parallel to the strings. In the Kalinga
group, men play the Kolitong at night as a solo instrument. A variety of bamboo tube
zithers are found throughout the Philippine archipelago, each zither differing from the
other in name, size, and design depending on its associated ethnic group.
Kubing
The kubing is a type of Philippine jaw harp from bamboo found among the
Maguindanaon and other Muslim and non-Muslim tribes in the Philippines and
Indonesia. It is also called kobing (Maranao), kolibau (Tingguian), aru-ding (Tagbanwa),
aroding (Palawan), kulaing (Yakan), karombi (Toraja), yori (Kailinese). Ones made of
sugar palm-leaf are called karinta (Munanese), ore-ore mbondu or ore Ngkale
(Butonese). The kubing is traditionally considered an intimate instrument, usually used
as communication between family or a loved one in close quarters. Both genders can
use the instrument, the females more infrequently than males who use it for short
distance courtship.
Kulibit
The kulibit is a type of tube zither played by the Kalinga people of the Philippines. The
instrument consists of a long tube of bamboo which has been slit to allow five or six
strands of the bamboo husk to be played as "strings". The instrument is also played by
the Bontoc and Tinguian people who call it the kollitong, and the Manobo and Tiruray
people, who call it the saluray, togo, or takumbu. These types of instruments, in which a
portion of the body of the instrument serves as a strings, are referred to as idiochords. A
similar instrument is found in Madagascar, the valiha, though modern valihas may use
separate metal or plastic strings.
Kulintang
Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a
row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger,
suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia,
kulintang music ensembles have been playing for many centuries in regions of the
Eastern Malay Archipelagothe Southern Philippines, Eastern Indonesia, Eastern
Malaysia, Brunei and Timor, although this article has a focus on the Philippine Kulintang
traditions of the Maranao and Maguindanao peoples in particular.

Kulintang a kayo
The kulintang a kayo (literally, wooden kulintang) is a Philippine xylophone of the
Maguindanaon people with eight tuned slabs arranged horizontally atop a wooden
antangan (rack). Made of soft wood such as bayug, the kulintang a kayo is a common
found among Maguindanaon households with a musical background. Traditionally, it
was used for self-entertainment purpose inside the house, so beginners could practice
kulintang pieces before performing them on the real kulintang and only recently have
they been performed as part of a wooden kulintang ensemble. This ancient
instrument is considered to have come to the Philippines before the importation of
metallic gongs from China and therefore is considered a precursor to the present-day
kulintang.
Kulintang a tiniok
The kulintang a tiniok is a type of Philippine metallophone with eight tuned knobbed
metal plates strung together via string atop a wooden antangan (rack). Kulintang a tiniok
is a Maguindanaon term meaning kulintang with string but they also could call them
kulintang a putao, meaning kulintang of metal. The Maranao refer to this instrument
as a sarunay (or salunay, salonay, saronay, saronai, sarunai), terminology which has
become popular for this instrument in America. This is considered a relatively recent
instrument and surprisingly many of them are only made of tin-can. Like the kulintang a
kayo, its used only for self-entertainment purpose in the home, to train beginners on
new songs before using the kulintang and in America, master artists have been training
students en masse on these instruments.
Kutiyapi
The kutiyapi, or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only
stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other
groups such as the Maranao and Manobo. It is four to six feet long with nine frets made
of hardened beeswax. The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as that from
the jackfruit tree.
Bamboo Organ
The Las Pias Bamboo Organ in St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Pias City, Philippines, is
a 19th-century church organ with unique organ pipes; they are made almost entirely of
bamboo. It was completed in 1824 by Father Diego Cera, the builder of the town's stone
church and its first resident Catholic parish priest.




Luntang
Also called kwintangan kayo (Yakan)
The luntang is a type of Philippine xylophone of the Maguindanaon people, strung
vertically, with five horizontal logs hung in ascending order arranged by pitch. The
Maguindanaon refer to this instrument as a luntang while the Yakan call it a kwintangan
kayo. The cylindrical logs are beaten at the edge to create sounds and can be played
either solo or with two people on either side. Among the Maguindanaon, the luntang is
used only for self-entertainment purposes, to keep farmers awake while at the same
time keeping the birds away from the fields. Commonly used for long distance
communication some times ago by the Maguindanaon, the Yakan have taken its use a
step further: using it for social interactions between sexes as well.
Nose flute
The nose flute is a popular musical instrument played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim
countries. Other versions are found in Africa, China, and India.
Octavina
The octavina or Philippine octavina is a guitar-shaped Filipino instrument with a tuning
similar to the lad.
Paldong
The paldong is a traditional lip-valley flute of the Kalinga tribes in the Philippines. The
paldong is made of bamboo. Its upper edge is cut away obliquely from the backside, and
then cut away slightly from the frontside. The player's lower lip is placed against the cut
away surface. The paldong is open at both ends, with a total of four finger holes; three
in front, one at the back.
Palendag
The palendag, also called Pulalu (Manobo and Mansaka), Palandag (Bagobo), Pulala
(Bukidnon) and Lumundeg (Banuwaen) is a type of Philippine bamboo flute, the largest
one used by the Maguindanaon, a smaller type of this instrument is called the Hulakteb
(Bukidnon). A lip-valley flute, it is considered the toughest of the three bamboo flutes
(the others being the tumpong and the suling) to use because of the way one must
shape one's lips against its tip to make a sound. The construction of the mouthpiece is
such that the lower end is cut diagonally to accommodate the lower lip and the second
diagonal cut is make for the blowing edge. Among the Bukidnon, a similar instrument
with the same construction except that it is three-fourths the length of the palendag, is
called the hulakteb.


Sulibao
A sulibao is a conical tenor drum played by the Ibaloi people of the Philippines. It is
played with the hand. It usually appears as part of an ensemble along with the kimbal,
pinsak, kalsa and palas.
Suling
Sulu, Philippines A suling or Seruling is an Indonesian bamboo ring flute. It is used in
gamelan ensembles. Depending on the regional genre, a suling can be tuned into
different scales. Sulings can be found in the following regions:
Sunda (West Java), Indonesia
Java (Central Java), Indonesia
Maluku, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Mindanao, Philippines
Takumbo
The takumbo is a parallel-stringed tube zither made from bamboo, and is found in the
Philippines. It is made from a heavy bamboo tube about 40 cm long, with both ends
closed with a node. Two strands of strings, about 5 cm apart, are partially etched out
from the body of the bamboo. Small wooden bridges are inserted beneath the strings at
both ends. At the center of the bamboo tube, below the strings, a small hole is bored.
The small hole is covered with a bamboo plate clipped to the strings.
Tumpong
The tumpong (also inci among the Maranao) is a type of Philippine bamboo flute used
by the Maguindanaon, half the size of the largest bamboo flute, the palendag. A lip-
valley flute like the palendag, the tumpong makes a sound when players blow through a
bamboo reed placed on top of the instrument and the air stream produced is passed
over an airhole atop the instrument. This masculine instrument is usually played during
family gatherings in the evening and is the most common flute played by the
Maguindanaon.







AGUNG BEBENDIL

AGUNG A TAMLANG BANDURRIA


DABAKAN DIWAS


GABBANG GAMBANG

GANDINGAN A KAYO GANDINGAN

GUNGSA HEGELUNG

KAGUL KENDANG


KOLITONG KULINTANG


KULINTANG A KAYO KULINTANG A TINIOK

NOSE FLUTE OCTAVINA







PALENDANG SULING

TAKUMBO

TUMPONG