Chapter 7 The Instrument of Rebana Kercing

Abstract

The Rebana Kercing performing art is an invaluable cultural heritage that has been inherited for many generations. As mentioned in previous chapters, the performing art requires the involvement of drum players who use drums or tambourines to produce the pleasant sound of ‘‘kercing’’ when played. The term Rebana Kercing occasionally refers directly to such tambourines used when performing. Visually, Rebana Kercing is a single-face frame drum or a membranophone made of nangka (jackfruit) wood and goat skin, attached with pairs of small copper cymbals or zills. It is similar to the western tambourines and produces a ringing sound or ‘‘kercing’’, differentiating it from kompang. The Rebana Kercing is mainly similar to the terbang in Indonesia and the duf of middle-eastern countries.