THE MUSIC OF

INDONESIA

The predominant

musical ensemble in Indonesia is

gamelan

Javanese gamelan is more sedate and majestic sounding

Balinese gamelan is more virtuosic,

mercurial, flashy, and unpredictable

Gamelan literally means, “musical ensemble”

Gending is a piece of Javanese music for gamelan

Gender is a metallophone with thin bronze slab keys

A Saron is a metallophone with thick bronze slab keys

lying over a trough resonator

A Gong is suspended and struck

with a mallet.

Laras are Javanese tuning systems

A complete Javanese

gamelan is two

orchestras in one

The cultural and historical significance of Javanese gamelan music goes back more than 250 years

The Mataram is the last great native power in Java

There are spiritual

aspects to Javanese Gamelan

music

Wayang Kulit (shadow-plays) use stories derived

from India

The Dhalang is the puppeteer

The Music of Bali

In the fifteenth century, Mataram displaced the Hindu

kingdom of Majapahit

Balinese gamelan music can accompany opera, support the royal court, enhance shadow

plays, or represent village pride

The Kecak is a type of

dance drama accompanied

by a large male chorus that chants

rhythmically, usually

performed for tourists

Barong is a dance ritual adopted for tourists

New genres are being accepted as “traditional” culture

Popular Music in Java

includes Gambus, Dangdut, Kroncong

and Jaipongan

The three levels of musical

activity in gamelan music are

coordinated by the

drummer

The are melody, elaboration and rhythmic punctuation

Buburan “Udan Mas,” (Golden Rain) Laras Pelog,

Patet Barang. Textbook CD

2, track 3

Ketawang “Puspawarna,” Laras Slendro, Patet Manyura.

Textbook CD 2, track 4

Kebyar “Teruna.” Textbook CD 2, track 5

Tabuh Empat Pagawak.Performed by

Gamelan Gong Gede “Sekar Sandat” of Bangli. Textbook

CD 2, track 6

Dangdut Quran Dan Koran Textbook CD 2, track 8

Kroncong “Morisko” Textbook CD 2, track 9

"Daun Pulus Keser

Bojong," Textbook CD 2, track 10

Gamelan is an Indonesian term for musical ensemble

Indonesian music is generally based on repeated musical phrases of varying length

Javanese music uses two scales

Gamelan music serves ritual,

spiritual, government, dramatic, and social functions

The shadow puppet play—Wayang Kulit

—is one of the major theatrical forms that

uses gamelan

Balinese gamelan instruments are tuned slightly differently,

creating a shimmering or pulsating effect

Many newer popular styles combine outside influences

What caused the

divergences of Javanese and

Balinese music in the

fifteenth-century, and then in the twentieth-century?

Why can Indonesia be labeled a “bronze culture”?

What other cultures can we list that

are influenced by

a material like bronze is to Indonesia?

In what other world music

cultures might we find interlocking?

Where might we find equivalents to Balinese

musical instruments that contain spirits?

How may shadow play be compared to opera or

ballet? Hollywood movies?

What acculturations has Balinese music made in the twentieth-century?

Has it been beneficial?

What were the forces that created Arabic and then Portuguese

influences on Indonesian popular music?