Gender

With only 14 bronze plates for keys and scarcely wider than two computer keyboards lined up lengthwise, the gender would be a piece of cake....you think. But nothing could be furthur than the truth for the instrument is reputed to be the harderst to master in the gamelan orchestra.

The structure of the gender itself is that of long, flat metal plates strung across a rack-like wooden frame, under which individual bamboo or tin tubes - one each for a plate - are placed as resonators. There are two types of gender - the larger gender barung and the smaller gender panerus, pitched an octave higher.

What makes playing this instrument difficult is that it is struck with two mallets, instrad of one in other instruments such as the saron. However, apart from striking the plates, the player also has the "damp" the sounded note as soon as the next one is hit. This is done by pinching or knudging the plate with the little finger or thumb, while the other fingers are busy holding the mallets. This can get somplicated when one player performs two intertwiming melodies at once and "damps" at the same time - two extro arms would come in handy.

Adapted from 'Two extra arms might be of help', The ST, 10th Dec 98

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