Music in Mak Yong consists of songs - accompanied vocal, and purely instrumental music. The songs function to explain the content of the Mak Yong’s narrative, introducing the characters and various dramatic and theatrical elements. Instrumental music is purely incidental to portray various dramatic moods as well as accompaniment to various dances. The opening music known as ‘Lagu Bertabuh’, functions as an overture, a form of instrumental ‘warm up’ and indication of the beginning of the performance - ‘a call to performance’.