Gendang or Kendang is an Indonesia traditional music instrument made from tree trunk whose inside part was discarded and skin of animals, like goat or cow. Without the skin, this instrument is like an empty barrel/cylinder. It is often called as two headed drums.
To play it, a player must hit the skin, either with hand or sticks.
The name of the instrument itself varies in many cultures. Modern Indonesian knows it as “Gendang” but people who lives in West Java, whose majority is Sundanese called the instrument as Kendang.
Kendang is seldom used as a stand alone instrument. Usually, it will be a part of an ensemble consisting several types of musical instruments. In Java culture, Gendang is a part of Gamelan ensemble and in Sundanese, it’s inseparable part of Degung ensemble. Both are quite similar in many ways actually.
