Tibetan ritual music makes a major impression on newcomers to Tibetan Buddhist pūjās. People are often surprised and impressed by the dramatic and sometimes deafening sounds of ritual music. Monastic group chanting is known as yangröl (dbyangs rol). We should understand that this music is not merely entertainment, but is itself a form of offering or chöpa (mchod pa). Yangröl, or rölmo refers to the combination of ritual chants and music. Chants are accompanied by a variety of specialized instruments. Specialists learn to play the instruments so that their offerings are considered both pleasant to the ear—nyenpa (snyan pa)—and skillfully—khépa (mkhas pa)—performed.
Great scholars and practitioners, such as Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsan (sa skya pan di ta kun dga’ rgyal mtshan) (1182-1251) wrote treatises on sacred music. This attention to musical science demonstrates the profundity of sound in Tibetan Vajrayāna practice.
The gyaling (Tibetan: རྒྱ་གླི་, Wylie: rgya gli, English: also spelled gya ling, gya-ling, jahlin, jah-lin, jahling, jah-ling, Rgya-gling etc.) Gyaling, literally meaning "Indian trumpet," is a traditional woodwind instrument used in Tibet. Specifically, it is a double reed horn much like the sorna used mainly in Tibetan monasteries during puja (chanting and prayer) and is associated with peaceful deities and the idea of devotion.
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