Sarons typically come in a number often sizes, from smallest to largest: Each one of those is pitched an octave below the previous.

The slenthem or slentho performs a similar function to the sarons one octave below the demung.

The other hand is used to dampen the previous note by grasping the key, in order to prevent a muddy sound.

Its playing techniques include: The earliest known appearance of a single-octave saron is in a relief at Borobudur, from the 9th century.

Mantle Hood rejected this hypothesis, and associates the preference for a single octave with the characteristic shape of the cadence in the pathet.