Searching for that Perfect Javanese Pitch

Hiromi Kano slowly walks over to a rebab (two-stringed bowed gamelan instrument). "This is one of my favorite instruments of the gamelan. It has a very unique sound," she said Friday two weeks ago.The bespectacled woman sat on the carpet in a room on the second floor of the Mojosongo Subdistrict office in Solo. With deft strokes, she draws a small bow across the strings, and a low, almost moaning sound follows.

Hiromi is not only skilled at playing the rebab. She is equally proficient with other instruments of the Javanese gamelan. Every Wednesday afternoon, she practices karawitan (Javanese vocal and instrumental music) alongside other villagers at the Mojosongo subdistrict office.