Slendro Scale — 5-Tone Gamelan Tuning
Slendro is the five-tone gamelan tuning system, with each step approximately 240 cents — close to 5-tone equal temperament but never mathematically exact.
Scale Structure
Highlighted intervals are microtones — impossible to play on a standard 12-TET piano.
History
Older than Pelog, Slendro is found in some of the oldest Javanese and Balinese gamelan ensembles. Each gamelan set is tuned by ear and tradition.
Cultural Usage
Heard in Javanese wayang shadow puppet performances, Balinese cremation ceremonies, and contemporary world music.
How MaqAmir Plays It
5-TET divides the octave into 5 equal steps. Our approximation [0, 2, 5, 7, 10] is the closest 12-tone fit, but authentic Slendro uses uneven, ensemble-specific tuning.
More from Indonesian Gamelan
Pelog Scale — Javanese Gamelan
Pelog is one of the two main tuning systems of Javanese and Balinese gamelan music. Its seven uneven steps create the distinctive shimmering, bell-like character of gamelan ensembles.
Maqam Rast — The Foundation of Arabic Music
Maqam Rast (مقام راست) is the cornerstone of Arabic classical music — a seven-note scale defined by its signature half-flat third (E½♭) and half-flat seventh (B½♭). The name "Rast" means "straight" or "direct" in Persian, reflecting its central role across the maqam system.
Maqam Bayati — The Voice of Devotion
Maqam Bayati (مقام بياتي) is one of the most widely sung Arabic maqamat, instantly recognizable by its half-flat second degree (E½♭ from D). It carries a sense of tenderness, longing, and devotion.
Maqam Hijaz — The Sound of the Sacred
Maqam Hijaz (مقام حجاز) is named after the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula. Its signature is the augmented second between the second and third degrees — a dramatic, exotic interval familiar to Western ears as the "Phrygian Dominant" sound.
Maqam Saba — The Scale of Sorrow
Maqam Saba (مقام صبا) carries the weight of grief and devotion. Its signature is the diminished fourth — a tense, unstable interval that resolves with intense emotional gravity.
Maqam Nahawand — The Arabic Natural Minor
Maqam Nahawand (مقام نهاوند) is the Arabic equivalent of the Western natural minor scale. Unlike most maqamat, it uses 12-tone intervals — making it instantly familiar to Western ears.
Maqam Kurd — The Phrygian of the East
Maqam Kurd (مقام كرد) shares its interval structure with the Western Phrygian mode — a flat second creates its signature dark, mysterious character.
Maqam Sikah — The Quarter-Tone Root
Maqam Sikah (مقام سيكاه) is unique among the primary maqamat because its root note is a quarter-tone (E½♭). It has a very distinct, earthy, and unresolved feeling.
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