|
Gamelan Theory
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones (played with mallets) and a set of hand-drums called ''kendang'', which keep the beat. The '' kemanak'', a banana-shaped idiophone, and the '' gangsa'', another metallophone, are also commonly used gamelan instruments on Bali. Other notable instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes (similar to the Indian '' bansuri''), a bowed string instrument called a '' rebab'' (somewhat similar to the '' gadulka'' of Bulgaria), and a zither-like instrument called a '' siter'', used in Javanese gamelan. Additionally, vocalists may be featured, being referred to as '' sindhen'' for females or '' gerong'' for males.Sumarsam (1998)''Introduction to Javanese Gamelan''. Middletown. Although the popularity of gamelan has declined slightly since the introduction of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonang
The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''rancak''), either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher ones have an arched one. Each is tuned to a specific pitch in the appropriate scale; thus there are different bonang for pelog and slendro. They are typically hit with padded sticks (''tabuh''). This is similar to the other cradled gongs in the gamelan, the kethuk, kempyang, and kenong. Bonang may be made of forged bronze, welded and cold-hammered iron, or a combination of metals. In addition to the gong-shaped form of kettles, economical bonang made of hammered iron or brass plates with raised bosses are often found in village gamelan, in Suriname-style gamelan, and in some American gam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kotekan
''Kotekan'' is a style of playing fast interlocking parts in most varieties of Balinese Gamelan music, including Gamelan gong kebyar, Gamelan angklung, Gamelan jegog and others. Kotekan are "sophisticated interlocking parts," "characteristic of gong kebyar and several other Balinese gamelan styles, that combine to create the illusion of a single melody, melodic line that often sounds tempo, faster than any single human could possibly play." According to Colin McPhee: "Composed of two rhythmically opposing parts which...interlock to create a perpetual flow of sound, the ''kotekan'' adds sheen and intensity to the music, ...calls for the utmost rhythmic precision...[and] lies in the top register of the gamelan."McPhee, Colin (1966). Music in Bali', p.162. New Haven, CT: Yale. . In ''kotekan'' there are two independent parts called ''polos'' and ', each of which fills in the gaps of the other to form a complete rhythmic texture. In Gamelan gong kebyar, Kotekan is usually played on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kemanak
Kemanak () is a banana-shaped idiophone used in Javanese gamelan, made of bronze. They are actually metal slit drums. It is struck with a padded stick and then allowed to resonate. It has a specific pitch, which can be varied by covering the slit, but it is not matched to the other instruments of the gamelan. They are usually played in pairs, although they can be played in sets of four as well. They are used to accompany the bedhaya and serimpi, female court dances. Kemanak is also a style of gendhing which includes, in addition to kemanak, only colotomic instruments, a kendang, and a sindhen. In the region of Cirebon on the Northwest Coast of Java, Kemanak are played in pairs by striking one against the other in a repetitive fashion. Unlike in Central Java, Kemanak in Cirebon are not reserved for specific performance idioms and are considered indispensable in the standard Gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Java ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gendèr
A gendèr is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks (Bali) or a padded wooden disk (Java). Each key is a note of a different pitch, often extending a little more than two octaves. There are five notes per octave, so in the seven-note pélog scale, some pitches are left out according to the pathet. Most gamelans include three gendèr, one for sléndro, one for pelog pathet nem and lima, and one for pelog pathet barang. The ''gendèr'' is similar to the Balinese gangsa, which also has an individual resonator under each key, and the saron, which, although trough-resonated, does have a set of tuned metal bars or keys. It is also similar to the Javanese slenthem, which is pitched lower and has fewer notes. The melodies of the two hands sometimes move in parallel motion, but often play contrapuntally. When ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambang (instrument)
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like instrument used in Indonesian gamelan and kulintang ensembles. It has wooden bars (''wilah'') in contrast to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang gangsa, is a similar instrument made with metal bars. Gambang kayu The bars of the instrument are made of a hardwood, often teak though many other species are used: ironwood (''kayu besi''), '' merbau'' (Borneo teak), jackfruit, ''ramin'', ''rawan'', ''Artocarpus'' species, etc. The bars are mounted on a deep wooden case that serves as a resonator. Instruments typically have 17-21 keys that are easily removed, and are kept in place by having a hole through which a nail is placed. Generally a full gamelan has two sets, one gambang pelog and the other one gambang slendro. A pair of long thin mallets (''tabuh''), made of flexible water buffalo horn tipped with felt, are used to play the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gong
A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and flat or bowl-like in shape, and can come in various sizes. They are typically struck with a mallet. They can be played alone, giving a characteristic "crashing" sound, or played as part of a tuned set that produce bell-like sounds. The earliest possible depictions of gongs is from the details on the surface of the Ngọc Lũ I Dong son drum, bronze drum () from the Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam. It depicts what looks like seven-gong ensembles along with other instruments (including cymbals/bells and the bronze drums themselves). The oldest undisputed historical mention of gongs can be found in sixth century AD Chinese records, which mentioned it as a foreign instrument that came from a country between Tibet and Bur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Bali
The Music of Bali, Bali is an Indonesian island that shares in the gamelan and other Indonesian musical styles. Bali, however, has its own techniques and styles, including kecak, a form of singing that imitates the sound of monkeys. In addition, the island is home to several unique kinds of gamelan, including the gamelan jegog, gamelan gong gede, gamelan gambang, gamelan selunding and gamelan semar pegulingan, the cremation music angklung and the processional music bebonangan. Modern popular styles include gamelan gong kebyar, dance music which developed during the Dutch occupation and 1950s era joged bumbung, another popular dance style. In Balinese music you can also hear metallophones, gongs and xylophones. Characteristics Balinese music can be compared to Javanese music, especially that of the pre-Islamic period. During that time, Javanese tonal systems were imported to Bali. Balinese gamelan, a form of Indonesian classical music, is louder, swifter and m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Sunda
Sundanese Music (Sundanese script, Sundanese: ) is an umbrella term that encompasses diverse musical traditions of the West Java and Banten in western part of Java, Indonesia. The term of "West Java" is preferred by scholars in this field. The word "Sundanese" originally referred to western part of Java Island and has a strong association with the highly centralized Kingdom of Sunda, Sunda Kingdom based on Java Island and its high culture practiced by the nobleman class in its capital Parahyangan. By contrast, scholars who cover a much broader region lay emphasis on folk culture. The people of Sundanese people, Sundanese, who inhabit the westernmost third of the island of Java, are sometimes wrongly referred to by foreigners as Javanese. Sundanese culture, language and music are quite distinct from those of the Javanese people of Central and East Java - although of course there are also elements in common. In Sunda there is a bewildering diversity of musical genres, musical co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Java
The Music of Java embraces a wide variety of styles, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting the diversity of the island and its lengthy history. Apart from traditional forms that maintain connections to musical styles many centuries old, there are also many unique styles and conventions which combine elements from many other regional influences, including those of neighbouring Asian cultures and European colonial forms. Gamelan The gamelan orchestra, based on metallic idiophones and drums, is perhaps the form which is most readily identified as being distinctly "Javanese" by outsiders. In various forms, it is ubiquitous to Southeast Asia. In Java, the full gamelan also adds a bowed string instrument (the rebab, a name illustrative of Islamic influence), plucked siter, vertical flute suling and voices. The rebab is one of the main melodic instruments of the ensemble, together with the metallophone gendér; these and the kendang drums are often played by the most experi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Indonesia
Indonesia is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area to area also uniquely differs from one another. For example, each traditional type of music is often accompanied by its very own dance and theatre. Contemporary music scene have also been heavily shaped by various foreign influences, such as America, Britain, Japan, Korea, and India. The music of Java, Sumatra, Bali, Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands) and other islands have been well documented and recorded, and further research by Indonesian and international scholars is also ongoing. The music in Indonesia predates historical records, various Native Indonesian tribes often incorporate chants and songs accompanied with musical instruments in their rituals. The contemporary music of Indonesia today is also popular amongst neighbouring countries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamelan Notation
Notation plays a relatively minor role in the oral traditions of Indonesian gamelan but, in Java and Bali, several systems of gamelan notation were devised beginning at the end of the 19th century, initially for archival purposes. Kepatihan Kepatihan is a type of cipher musical notation that was devised for the notation of the Indonesian gamelan. History The system was devised around 1900 at the ''Kepatihan'' (the Grand Vizier's compound) in Surakarta, and was based upon the Galin-Paris-Chevé system, imported in the nineteenth century by Christian missionaries to allow the notation of hymns. It superseded several other notation systems of Javanese origin devised around the same time. Notation The pitches of the seven-tone pélog tuning system are designated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7; while the five-tone slendro pitches are notated as 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. The octaves are noted by dots above and below the numbers, as in Chinese jianpu, although of course the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irama
''Irama'' is the term used for tempo in Indonesian gamelan in Java and Bali. It can be used with elaborating instruments. It is a concept used in Javanese gamelan music, describing melodic tempo and relationships in density between the balungan, elaborating instruments, and gong structure. It is distinct from tempo ( Javanese: ''Laya''), as each ''Irama'' can be played in different tempi. ''Irama'' thus combines "the rate of temporal flow and temporal density"; and the temporal density is the primary factor.Sumarsan, 1996. page 156 One way to think of ''Irama'' is to use the most consistently struck instrument in the gamelan, the '' saron panerus'' (or ''peking''). In some pieces, it plays once per note in the ''balungan'' (such as played by the '' saron barung''). In others, it may play twice as often, or four times, as the notes of the ''balungan'' are more spread out. This corresponds to a slower ''Irama''. In most cases, the more spread out the ''balungan'' is, the longer i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
