Gamelan is the term used to describe various types of tuned percussion ensemble played throughout Indonesia. The instruments in the Cambridge gamelan are from the island of Java. This ensemble includes tuned bronze gongs, gong-chimes, metallophones, drums, a bamboo flute and a bowed string instrument. No two gamelans are tuned exactly alike; each ensemble is unique and is often given a name. The Cambridge gamelan is called Gamelan Duta Laras (‘Ambassador of Harmony’).
A complete Javanese court-style gamelan, such as that based at the Faculty of Music, actually comprises two sets of instruments in two different tuning systems: sléndro (a five-tone scale) and pélog (a seven-tone scale).