Rebab
The rebab is a musical string instrument which was heavily used in old Arabic music. It is considered as part of the Lute family (Oud in Arabic). The rebab was often used in old Andalusian classical music and still is used in modern-day Andalusian music, especially in Morocco, where a tradition of Andalusian-style classical music has been kept alive by descendants of Muslims who left Spain as refugees following the Reconquista. In neighbouring European countries, the rebab was adapted into the Rebec, which can be considered as one of the ancestors of the violin family.
The rebab originated in Arabia and Persia and its influence has reached a major part of Asia, as far as Indonesia, as well as Africa and Europe.
There are various different types of rebabs that have different functions. In Southeast Asia, the rebab is a large instrument with a range similar to the viola da gamba, whereas versions of the instrument further west tend to be smaller and higher-pitched. In Indonesian gamelan music, the rebab is often considered not to be part of the core of gongs, metallophones, and drums but, rather, a vocal-style instrument that does not have to conform to the scale of the exact-pitched core gamelan instruments, and can also be played in relatively free time, while finishing its phrases after the beat of the gong ageng (the big gong that "rules" the ensemble). In both Indonesian and Malay gamelan music, it is traditional for rebab players to ornament their melodies a lot, just as singers do in those styles.