Gamelan

Gamelan

1. Gamelan

   • Instruments
     • Main intruments
       • Metallophones
       • Gongs
       • Drums
     • Four main parts
       • Main Tune
         • Java
           • Balungan
         • Bali
           • Pokok
         • The Tune is repeated
           • Creating a rhythmic cycle called a gongan
           • Played by the metallophone
             • Saron
               • A particular type of metallophone which has a metal bar for each note of an octave played with a wooden mallet
   • Important part of Indonesian culture
   • Comes from the islands Java and Bali
   • When is it played?
     • Celebrations
     • Religious events
     • Entertainments
       • Shadow puppet plays
       • Dance performances
   • Most villages have a special area, similar to a park bandstand where the Gamelan plays
   • Played by a percussion orchestra
     • Called Gamelan
     • Bali
       • 4 - 40 instruments
     • Java
       • 15 - 20 instruments
   • Indonesians
     • "Gamelan is one single instrument"
       • performers play the same instruments
       • All players and their parts are equally important
       • All parts should merge to make one sound
   • Instruments are made in sets
     • With carved and painted decoration
     • All the instruments in a single set are decorated and tuned in the same way
   • Thought to be magical and spiritual
     • People in Java and Bali believe the instruments have a tie to heaven
     • No one steps over an instruments in case they damage the connection to heaven
   • It is a big honour to be chosen, by their community, to play Gamelan
   • The music
     • It's not written down
     • Players learn their parts by...
       • listening
       • watching
       • copying
         • their teachers
     • Players learn all the different parts in a piece so they can understand how the whole thing fits together
   • Scales
     • Two scales
     • All notes have numbers
     • Nothing is written down!!
     • Slendro
       • 5-note scale
       • notes are spread evenly throughout an octave
         • roughly equivalent to a pentatonic scale
     • Pelog
       • 7-note scale
       • Different Gamelans are tuned to different scales