Gamelan Lab
Gamelan Composition Lab
$7.99 · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Play, sequence, and export real Indonesian gamelan — Pélog & Sléndro tuning, Kotekan interlocking, a full sequencer, and AUv3 for GarageBand.
Gamelan Lab is a real Indonesian gamelan you can play, learn from, and compose with.
Built on 281 real recorded notes from a physical Javanese gamelan (Casa da Música, Porto — licensed for reuse), not synthesized approximations. Every degree you tap is the actual tuning of a real bronze instrument — no two gamelan ensembles in the world share the same tuning, and this app captures one of them faithfully.
Play
• Pélog (7-tone) and Sléndro (5-tone) scales, switchable anywhere
• Saron, Bonang Barung & Panerus, Gender, Gambang, Kenong, Kempul, Gong Ageng, and kendhang drums — all real samples
• A circular cycle wheel visualizes the colotomic structure (Gong/Kenong/Kempul/Kethuk) as a living clock, with a continuously sweeping playhead — tap any beat to reshape the cycle
• Three traditional forms (Lancaran, Ketawang, Ladrang) as starting points, or design and save your own
Learn
• Kotekan Lab: build a melodic cell and hear the interlocking technique itself — Nyog Cag, Imbal, Kotekan Telu, and Kotekan Empat, with Polos and Sangsih highlighted note-by-note as they play
• A 7-article Theory tab (what gamelan is, Java vs. Bali, Pélog & Sléndro, colotomic structure, Kotekan, the instrument family, cultural context) — three articles you interact with directly, not just read
• Two real traditional pieces (Gangsaran, Lancaran Kebo Giro) with their cultural context and sources, loadable straight into the sequencer
Compose
• Multi-track step sequencer with independent subdivision per track (1x/2x/4x), per-track volume/mute/solo, one-tap randomize (per track or all), and undo
• Mute the colotomic base to hear your sequenced pattern in isolation
• Save and reload full compositions, plus your own custom colotomic cycle shapes
Export & integrate
• Bounce your piece to audio (4 loops) or as isolated per-instrument stems, ready for a DAW
• Export Standard MIDI — multitrack, one named track per instrument, with Pitch Bend measured from this gamelan's own real tuning (not a flattened equal-tempered guess)
• A built-in AUv3 instrument plug-in lets you play these exact samples from GarageBand or any other Audio Unit host on iPad/iPhone — its own panel has a mixer with per-track volume/mute, tap-to-edit step pattern, dice randomizer, a live preview button, and an animated cycle wheel
• Turn on "Sync sequence to recording" and the plug-in plays your whole piece from the start the moment the host starts recording — timed to GarageBand's own count-in automatically, so a take lines up without any manual setup
Designed for iPhone and iPad — Theory opens as a persistent sidebar, controls and the cycle wheel scale up, and layouts use the extra iPad screen space rather than just stretching the phone UI.
Whether you've never heard a gamelan before or you're a practicing musician exploring a different tuning system, Gamelan Lab is built to be understood by ear first.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, Martin Adler, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Martin Adler
- Size
- 66.6 MB
- Category
- Music
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Martin Adler
