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
They 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?