A kendang or gendang (, , , Tausug/Bajau/Maranao: gandang, Bugis: gendrang and Makassar: gandrang or ganrang) is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the gamelan ensembles of Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese music. It is also used in various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups. It is related to the Indian double-headed mridangam drum.
The typical double-sided membrane drums are known throughout Maritime Southeast Asia and India. One of the oldest image of kendang can be found in ancient temples in Indonesia, especially the ninth century Borobudur and Prambanan temple.
Among the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese, the has one side larger than the other, with the larger, lower-pitched side usually placed to the right, and the drums are usually placed on stands horizontally and hit with the hands on either side while seated on the floor. Amongst groups like the Balinese, Tausug, and Maranao, both sides are of equal size, and the drums are played on either one or both sides using a combination of hands and/or sticks.
In music, the is smaller than the , which is placed inside a frame, hit with a beater, but used less frequently. The usually has the function of keeping the tempo (laya) while changing the density (), and signaling some of the transitions () to sections and the end of the piece ().
In the dance or performance, the player will follow the movements of the dancer, and communicate them to the other players in the ensemble. In West Java (Sundanese), are used to keep the tempo of . are also used as main instrument for Jaipongan dances. In another composition called Rampak Kendang, a group of drummers play in harmony.
Among the Makassarese, the () drums have much more importance, and they are considered the most sacred of all musical instruments, comparable to gongs in Java. This can be seen in local origin stories, accompaniments for local ceremonies, dances such as , and martial arts. Even local government ceremonies are opened by the official sounding of a ganrang rather than the usual gong in Java. They are usually played alone with multiple drums playing different patterns creating syncopation. These traditions can be seen across lowland South Sulawesi with Bugis people also sharing similar reverence to the .
Good kendang instruments are said to be made from the wood of jackfruit, coconuts or cempedak. Buffalo hide is often used for the bam (inferior surface which emits low-pitch beats) while soft goatskin is used for the chang (superior surface which emits high-pitch beats).
The skin is stretched on y-shaped leather or rattan strings, which can be tightened to change the pitch of the heads. The thinner the leather the sharper the sound.
In Gamelan Reog, kendhang are used to accompany the Reog Ponorogo art, and the sound produced by Kendhang Reog is very distinctive with the beat of "dang thak dhak thung glhang". The existence of Kendang Reog is currently the largest in the world of the existing types of Kendhang.
In Gamelan Surakarta, four sizes of kendhang are used:
In Sundanese Gamelan, a minimum set consists of three drums.
Many types of Sundanese Kendang are distinguished according to their function in accompaniment :
Each type of drums in Sundanese music has a difference in size, pattern, variety, and motif.
In , there are two :
(Makassarese s) can be divided to three types:
Among the Bugis there are two types of playing techniques based on the position of the . if the is placed on the player's lap it is called . If the players are standing with the s tied with a shoulder strap it is called , this position are usually used for sacred ceremony, or for entertainment like beating of rice mortars or . There are generally three types of beats pattern in playing: