How the bundengan string material affects its musical sound

Abstract

Bundengan is a traditional musical instrument from Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Bundengan consists of several main components, namely the kowangan resonator, a set of loaded strings, and a set of bamboo bars. Bundengan can imitate the sound of the percussive elements in gamelan lengger Wonosobo, such as gong, kempul, kenong and kethuk. This research aims to analyze the impact of the choice of bundengan string material on the frequency spectrum and temporal dynamics of the sound produced by the bundengan. Quantitative data is obtained by measuring the acoustical signal produced by each bundle string that is tested. Our data indicates that the natural gut badminton string is the most suitable string for the sound of gong, kempul and kethuk, with errors of 1.87 cents, 23.88 cents, and 0.88 cents, for the sound of gong, kempul, and kethuk, respectively. Meanwhile, the solid core badminton string with single wrap is the most suitable string for kenong, with an error of 3.29 cents. The data also shows that the natural string gut has the most suitable damping factor to produce the sound of the gong, with a damping factor of 0.036.