Gamelan(Area of Study 2)

Gamelan music is very different from most European and American music traditions. The main instruments on gongs, metallophones and drums - not your average orchestra.

Gamelan is an important part of Indonesian cultureGamelan music comes from the islands of Java and Bali in Indonesia. Gamelan is played at celebrations, religious events and entertainments like shadow puppet plays and dance performances. Most villages have a special area, a bit like a park bandstand, where the Gamelan plays. In Java and Bali it is traditional for people to keep their emotions hidden in public. The music gives them a different way to express themselves. 1. Gamelan music is played by a kind of percussion orchestra, also called a Gamelan. There

can be between four and 40 instruments in a Balinese Gamelan and between 15 and 20 in a Gamelan from Java.

2. The big difference from a European style orchestra is that Indonesians think of a Gamelan as one single instrument - all the performers are jointly playing the same instrument. All players and the parts they play are equally important - all the parts should merge to make one sound.

3. Gamelan instruments are made in sets with lots of carved and painted decoration. All the instruments in a set are decorated and tuned in the same way. You couldn't borrow one instruments and play it on its own or play with another Gamelan as it would look wrong and sound wrong.

4. The Gamelan is thought to be a magical and spiritual instrument. People in Java and Bali believe the instruments have a tie to heaven. They never step over an instrument in case they damage this connection.

5. People don't play the gamelan just because they think it looks like fun. Players are chosen by their community. It's supposed to be a big honour to play the Gamelan.

6. Gamelan music isn't written down. Players learn their part by listening, watching and copying their teachers. Players don't just learn one part either - they are expected to learn all the parts in a piece so they can understand how the whole thing "ts together.

Gamelan music is based on two types of scale...There are two scales used in Gamelan music. All the notes have numbers. These are never written down, but they are used to help players memorise their parts.

Most sets of Gamelan are tuned either to the slendro or to the pelog scale. Others are tuned to both - these are called double gamelan.

=Causeway Performing Arts=

The !ve note gamelan scale is called SLENDROGamelan notes don't exactly match Western scales. The "ve notes are spread evenly throughout an octave. A slender road is roughly equivalent to a pentatonic scale. Different Gamelans are tuned to different scales.

The seven note Gamelan scale is called PELOG Gamelan music often only uses "ve notes of the seven note pelog scale. Again different drylands are tuned to different scales, so the music sounds different depending on which cameraman it's played on.

There are four main parts in a gangland piece, each played by different instruments

The main tune is called the Balungan or Pokok1. All the parts work around a core melody. In Java this melody is called the Balungan. In Bali

it’s called the Pokok.2. The tune is repeated over and over again, creating a rhythmic cycle. It's played by the

metallophone.

Other instruments are used to decorate the tuneOther instruments and singers are used to embellish (decorate) the main tune. They add extra notes to make the piece sound more "ddly and impressive.

1. The ‘Gender’ has narrow keys made of bronze. Below the keys there are bamboo pipes which resonate with the sound, making it sound bigger and richer.

2. The ‘Bonang’ family are instruments with two rows of gongs resting on cords across a wooden frame.

3. A ‘Gambang’ is a xylophone with wooden bars.

4. You'll also hear various types of stringed instruments, like the ‘Celempung’ - a plucked string instrument a bit like a mini heart. There's also the ‘Rebab’, which is a two stringed "ddle.

=Causeway Performing Arts=

The salon is a particular type of Metallica.It has a metal bar for each note of an octave.The bars rest on hollowed out wooden cradles.To play the salon you hit the bars with a wooden mallet.

Gongs mark the rhythmOn page 1 I said that the tune repeats over and over again in a rhythmic cycle. This cycle is called a ‘Gongan’. Gongs mark time so the performers and audience know where they are in the Gongan.

1. The biggest hanging gong is called the ‘Gong Ageng’. It plays in the last beat of the cycle.

2. Smaller sections within the Gong Ageng are marked by the ‘Kempul’ - medium hanging gongs - and the ‘Kenong’ and ‘Ketuk’ - gongs which rest horizontally on cords stretched across a wooden box.

Gamelan music has four beats per bar. A bar is called a ‘Keteg’. The gongs accent the last beat of each bar.

Drummers cue performers and keep tempo

1. The main job of the drummer in the gamelan is to keep the tempo - but they also act like the conductors of the gamelan, cueing in the other players so they know when to play.

2. The drummers sometimes accent the rhythm to follow the movement of puppets or dancers.

3. There are two main types of drum. The big one is called the ‘Kendang Gending’ and the smaller one is called the ‘Ketipung’. They are cone shaped with two drum skins, one larger and one smaller. They are played resting sideways, so the drummer can play one skin with each hand.

4. Other percussion includes woodblocks, metal plates and small cymbals.

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