Gamelan: The Traditional Sounds of Indonesia provides an introduction to present-day Javanese, Balinese, Cirebonese, and Sundanese gamelan (gong chime orchestra music through ethnic, social, cultural, and global perspectives. Deemphasizing potentially intimidating technical discussions of scales and models, this unique work focuses on the approaches to composing and playing gamelan music and how they relate to cultural and personal values.

An introduction to Southeast Asian geography and history leads to a discussion of the different gamelan traditions in Bali and Java. A chapter on music and dance in West Java includes never-before published information on a variety of Sundanese music and dance genres. A case study of "jaipongan," and "dangdut," indigenous modern music and dance forms, explores their roots, roles, and authenticity.