The word gamelan simply means "musical group" and may refer to up to 15 different kinds of Balinese musical ensembles. They usually include one or more drums, a series of gongs and metallophones (xylophone type instruments) and a bamboo flute.

On left: kendang, large, conical, two-sided "male" drum; a collection of metal gongs such as gangsa jegogan and gangsa pamade tuned to different pitches; and the langang, a smaller, conical, two-sided “female" drum.

The two drummers are the leaders of the Gamelan orchestra. They hold the drums in their laps and use both hands or rounded sticks to play. The drummer on the right is from the Gamelan Sekar Jaya Ensemble.

A balafon is a framed xylophone played by the Maninka or Mandeng people. It usually has from 16 to 20 tuned wood bars, with calabash (gourd) resonators below the bars. The resonators have holes cut in them, over which cigarette paper is stretched so as to make a buzzing sound when the wood bar is struck. The balafon is believed to date from the time of Sunjata, the legendary founder of the Mali Empire in the 13th century.

Ghungroo (ghunguru) are the brass bells that kathak dancers wear wrapped around the ankles. Dancers typically wear between 101 and 151 bells. The bells have iron balls inside which add quite a lot of weight, and make it necessary for the dancers to develop leg and body strength with intense training. Kathak dancers can make many different sounds with the ghungroo, making possible various intricacies of rhythm.

Hosho are traditionally made from gnarly maranka gourds, hollowed out and partially filled with hard hota seed. Snapping the hosho so that the seed cracks against its interior wall makes the desired sound. It sounds easy enough, but hosho can be one of the most challenging instruments to play well.

A common rhythm played on hosho to accompany mbira music is a triplet pattern. Often the back swing just before the beat is emphasized. Rather than accompanying the other instruments, the hosho often lead the way, cutting the rhythm and giving the music a fine edge. The heartbeat of a marimba or mbira ensemble is the hosho player, who uses a pair of these deceptively simple-looking instruments to keep the pace.

A rainstick is a long, hollow tube which is filled with small baubles such as beads or beans and has small pins or thorns arranged on its inside surface. When the stick is upended, the beads fall to the other end of the tube, making a sound reminiscent of a rainstorm as they bounce off the pins. The rainstick is generally considered to have been invented in Chile, and played in the belief that it could bring about rainstorms.

A gourd is the name given to the hollow, dried shell of a fruit in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is in the same family as the pumpkin. Gourds can be used as a number of things, including bowls or bottles. Gourds are also used as resonating chambers on many stringed instruments and drums.