Music Of Indonesia

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Music Of Indonesia

• Balinese Gamelan

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Gamelan Background

• This music indigenous to the islands of Bali and
  Java in the Indonesian archipelago
  
• Dates back to before the 12th century.
• The word gamelan is a generic word for an
  instrumental ensemble ranging in size from a few
  small instruments to an impressive set of over
  fifty.
• There is a great variety of instrumental
  ensembles which perform vibrant, and electrifying
  music with a great degree of precision ,
  artistry, technicality, and skill.

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Instrumental Functions

• A. Bossed (knobbed) gongs (punctuaters)
• B. Bronze kettles (melody and texture)
• C. Bronze metalophones (melody and textural)
• D. Bamboo xylophones called (Gambang)

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Functions (cont.)

• E. Drums (provide rhythmic support)
• F. Cymbals (provide rhythmic support)
• G. The Rebab (two string fiddle) and Suling
  (Bamboo flute) (melody)
  

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Gamelan Instruments

• A. Gangsa - xylophone-like instrument that has
  bronze bars, bamboo resonators, is struck with a
  hammer in one hand while the other follows behind
  to dampen the tones.
• B. Kendang - Two cylindrical drums. One drum is
  considered male, and the other female - together
  they play a series of interlocking rhythms which
  lead the group and cue changes in the musical
  texture and dynamic.
• C. Trompong - Another drum - this one a deep bass
  sound which supports the Kendang and outlines the
  time cycle.
  

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Instruments (cont.)

• D. Kempli Gong - small gong that can be
• at time much like a metronome.
• E. Cengceng - small cymbals used in faster more
  exciting sections of Gamelan music.
  
• F. Suling - bamboo flute used to play melodies
• G. Rebab - two string fiddle that provides
  supporting role to the melody
  

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Religious Background

• Bronze and Iron are used in the making of the
  metal bars for the keyboard instruments and the
  gongs by specialized artisans or metal smiths -
  this is considered a very sacred and secretive
  occupation.
• The sacred nature of this occupation is due to a
  religious belief called animism which shares a
  unique relationship with the Hinduism that is
  practice by 90 of the Balinese population.
• Animism is the belief that all things either
  animal or mineral possess an inherent spirit.
  This spirit is thus transformed from its animal
  or mineral state into that of a musical
  instrument and is still alive in a sense.
  Therefore, the gamelan instruments themselves
  are thought to be sacred, possessing a soul,
  and must be regarded with great respect. Such
  things as stepping over an instrument in the
  gamelan ensemble shows disrespect to this spirit
  and is bad luck.

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Musical Characteristics

• The instruments used in gamelan are tuned to one
  of two scale systems
  
• 1. Pelog - a five note (pentatonic) scale made
  up of nearly equidistant intervals.
  
• 2. Slendro - a seven note scale made up of large
  and small intervals.
  
• the slendro and pelog instruments never play
  together, rather a complete orchestra of
  instruments in each tuning system must exist to
  play music.

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Characteristics (cont.)

• Paired Tuning - The instruments in the ensemble
  utilize " paired tuning," meaning that two of the
  same instruments in the ensemble are tune
  slightly apart to create a pulsating vibrato or
  "shimmering" sound of slight dissonance. This is
  what gives the gamelan its characteristic
  haunting sound.
• Compositional techniques - Gamelan music is
  cyclic in nature and based largely on repeated
  patterns of punctuation and time. There is a
  pervasive use of interlocking between individual
  parts to produce rapid figuration of
  mind-boggling speed and precision. Most gamelan
  rely on the interlocking (also known as Hocket)
  technique called "Kotekan" to create its ostinato
  and melodic patterns.

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Kotekan Types

• A. Polos - the pattern that falls more on the
  beat than off - it is more stable (less
  syncopated) and is characteristically considered
  female.
• B. Nangsih ( pronounced SONGSY) - pattern that
  falls more off beat - it is unstable (more
  syncopated) and is considered to be
  characteristically male.

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Four Types of Kotekan

• 1. Chandetan - an alternating rhythm in which
  the nyangsih differs from the polos
  

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Kotekan types (cont.)

• 2. Tutugan - an alternating rhythm in which the
  nyangsih melody follows the polos
  

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Kotekan Types (cont.)

• 3. Ochetan - an interlocking rhythm in which two
  separate voices are created where the parts
  meet.
  

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Kotekan Types (cont.)

• 4. Semi - Ochetan - an interlocking rhythm in
  which the parts meet on a unison.
  

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Ensemble Types

• For most gamelan ensemble types the music is
  fixed and composed relying very little on
  improvisation.
  
• Gamelan Selunding- a small ensemble made up of 8
  - 10 players-play the older more traditional
  compositions. Usually this music is slow and
  soft.
• Gamelan Gede - large ensemble that plays also
  more traditional pieces. The instruments are made
  of large Iron bars which are quite loud and are
  played without the dampening technique inherent
  to Kebyar.

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Ensemble types (cont.)

• Gamelan Gong Kebyar - Most abundant ensemble type
  on Bali which play very fast, exciting,
  contemporary compositions. Kebyar means literally
  "to burst open" or to "flare up," and grew out of
  the gong gede tradition around 1915 in Northern
  Bali. Kebyar is more episodic than other types of
  gamelan displaying sudden shifts in tempo, style,
  and volume.

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Ensemble Types (cont.)
Wayan Kulit - Shadow -Puppet drama which
developed in Java in which a Dalong or
puppeteer controls the movements and voices of
up to 50 different puppets and is accompanied by
a unique form of gamelan playing which reacts to
the Dalongs movements and vocalizations.
Gamelan Anklung - gamelan music play
ed on small keyboard instruments comprised of
only four notes. Music is characteristically
light and is an older form of gamelan.
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Ensemble types (cont.)

• Kecek - Often referred to as The Monkey Chant,
  this form of music actually mimics the sound of a
  lizard found on Bali which makes the cek sound.
  The performers chanted these lizard sounds in an
  interlocking fashion which creates an unusual
  textural sound. Cyclic punctuating gongs are
  also mimicked with voice. The music in this
  context serves as the background for the
  theatrical drama used to depict stories from the
  Ramayana, a Hindu epic.

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Wayan Kulit
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Playing the Kantilan
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The Trompong
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Dueling Kendang
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Gamelan Gong Gede
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Beach Gathering
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Banjar Childrens Gamelan
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Banjar Dancing