Lecture 10: Music of India (cont.)
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Transcript Lecture 10: Music of India (cont.)
Chapter 7:
Music of Indonesia
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Terms & Ideas to know
Gamelan
Tuning and scales (Pélog and Sléndro)
Gendhing
Loud and Soft Playing styles
Differences between Bali and Java
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Southeast Asia/South Pacific
Australia (didjeridu)
Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.
Indonesia
Java
Bali
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General Information on
Indonesia
Old cultural traditions, but much cultural diversity
due to migration
Boundaries formed during centuries of European
colonial domination; many islands
A national language adopted in early twentieth
century, but more than two hundred separate
languages exist.
Pan-Indonesian popular culture is developing, but
regional diversity continues.
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Heavy Population Centers
Jakarta in Java is the Indonesian
capital, about nine million people (New
York City is 7,500,000); extreme wealth
and poverty
Central Java is one of the most densely
populated regions in the world
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Two Major Ethnic Groups
Javanese is the largest ethnic group on
the island (about 2/3); common
language and cultural traits
Sudanese, Language and arts are
distinct from the Javanese
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General Qualities of the
People
Mostly a farming society, Wet-rice agriculture
Religious practices: most profess to be
Muslim, but only a small percentage follow
orthodox practice. More adhere to an IslamHinduism-Buddhism blend. Layer of belief in
benevolent and mischievous spirits and in
ancestor veneration
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Kraton in Yogyakarta
One of Java’s two major royal courts; official home of the
tenth sultan
A complex of small buildings and open pavilions
Earthly symbol of the ordered universe; oriented to the
cardinal directions
Ruler lives at the very center; imbued with divine powers
Kraton still regarded as a cultural center
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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Gamelon of the Kraton in
Yogyakarta
http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/mus/gamelans/open.html
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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What
Is a
Gamelan?
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Gamelan refers to set of instruments unified
by their tuning, and by decorative carvings
and paintings
Primarily consists of several kinds of metal
slab instruments and tuned knobbed gongs
Also normally have at least one drum and
may have other kinds of instruments; vary in
size; some ancient gamelans have small
number of instrument
Those in central Java usually large with
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wide range of instruments
Gamelan ‘Ensembles’
Gamelan ensembles are kept in many
of these court pavilions
Some old and used for rare ritual
occasions
Some newer and used more frequently
Most believed to contain special
powers
Are shown respect and given offerings
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Court Gamelans Were Often
Quite Formal
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Four Sample
Instruments
Rebab (fiddle)
Saron and
Gender are slab
instruments
(xylophones)
Bonang uses
knobbed gongs
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Gamelan video from Bali
(JVCv9-1 “Sekar jupun”)
Begins with knobbed gong players
alternating with players of xylophone-type
instrument
The main body of the piece begins with
double-headed drum
Large gong marks dividing point; the small
cymbals are almost constant
Notice suling (flute) and rebab (fiddle)
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Gamelans Serve Various
Purposes Now
Used in all-night performances of shadow
plays
Classical Javanese dance rehearsed regularly
and performed for special palace functions
More activities outside of the court in
contemporary society; sponsored by private
individuals, national radio station, public
schools and colleges
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Some Universities in the U.S.
now have Gamelans
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QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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Pythagorean vs. Equal Tempered Tuning
Problem: The Pythagorean Comma
There are several ways to explain the
Pythagorean comma. In a nutshell
you cannot tune a circle of Pythagorean 5ths and
end up where you started.
*****
Start from C and tune perfect 5ths all the way
around to B#. You will find that C and B# are not
in tune.
*****
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A Pythagorean perfect 5th is 702 cents.
702+702+702+702+702+702+702+702+702+702
+702+702= 8424 cents
A half step is divided into 100 cents. There are 12
half steps to an octave. Therefore, an octave is
1200 cents.
1200+1200+1200+1200+1200+1200+1200= 8400
cents
8424 - 8400 = 24 cents = Pythagorean Comma
Result: From the 17th century to the present, the
music of the Western Hemisphere has used
Equal Temperament, created by lowering the
perfect 5th from 702 cents to 700 cents.
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See more information at:
http://home.austin.rr.com/jmjensen/TEMPER/Tem
perament.html
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Present-day gamelans tuned
to one of two scale systems
Sléndro = Five-tone system made up of nearly
equidistant intervals; normally notated 1-2-3-5-6
(no 4)
Pélog = Seven-tone system made up of large and
small intervals; normally notated 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
Gamelans may consist entirely of one or the other
or may have a full set of instruments for each
system (double ensemble)
The scale systems are incompatible and rarely
played simultaneously
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Arrangement of Instruments
No standard arrangement of the
instruments in the performance space
Almost without exception, they are
placed at right angles to one another
Reflects Javanese concern with the
cardinal directions
Larger instruments generally in the
back, smaller in the front
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Two major groupings of
instruments
“Loud-playing” are associated with
festivals, processions, and other noisy
outdoor events; strictly instrumental; drums
and louder metal instruments used
“Soft-playing” are intended for more
intimate gatherings, often indoors; involved
singing; instruments are played softly
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Example of Javanese
Gamelan
More formal and sedate than Bali
CD: A Javanese Ghendhing (Gamelan
composition) in performance
CD 2/Track 3: “Bubaran Kembang Pacar”
An example of loud-playing style
Uses the pélog scale system, with large
and small intervals
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Gamelan construction
Bronze is the preferred metal
Brass and iron are also used, especially in
rural areas; cheaper
Bronze gamelan instruments are forged in a
long and difficult process; metal worker held
in high esteem; forging requires great skill
Forging also imbued with mystical
significance
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Construction (cont.)
Process is believed to make one especially
vulnerable to dangerous forces in the spirit world;
smiths make ritual preparation
Largest gongs require a full month of labor; a
truckload of coal
A month of meditation, prayer, fasting, and
preparation by the smith
Careful handling; a false hit can crack the gong
and ruin the work
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Each Gamelan is Generally a
Unique Set
Would look and sound out of place in
another ensemble
Attempting to copy the tuning and design of
palace instruments used to be forbidden
Reserved for the ruler and his power
Great care is taken to arrive at a pleasing
tuning; one that is seen to fit the particular
physical condition of the instruments; fits
the taste of the individual owner
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Javanese music is closely interrelated
with other performing arts
“Concerts” of gamelan music rare; more
often as social event
Might be played to commemorate birth,
circumcision, wedding; or sponsored by
family as background music for social event;
guests socialize and talk freely
Most often performed as accompaniment for
dance or theater
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Gamelan and Drama
The ensemble might accompany a drama based
on Javanese legendary history
Often used in shadow puppet theater—wayang
kulit; Performances normally last until dawn
Master puppeteer, dhalang, operates all the
puppets; story typically puppeteer’s own rendition
of a well-known story, or episode from the
Ramayana or Mahabharata
Musicians do not play constantly, but must be
ready to respond to a signal from the puppeteer; a
good musician knows many hundreds of pieces
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The shadow puppet show
(wayang kulit)
JVCv10-2.
CD 2:4 – “Playon Lesum” (slendro
pathet nam)
First one begins in soft style; become
loud; ends after repeating the first
gongan, when puppet uses signal
Second loud-playing style; the saron
plays some variation phrases; tailored
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Bali: A Small Island Just East
of Java
Spectacular beauty; most people involved in
some kind of artistic work (sadly, recent
bombing)
Blend of Hindu and Buddhist practices; not
as much Islam influence
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Balinese Gamelan
Music similar to Java, but not the
same; more variety of ensembles;
music more dynamic and exciting
Instruments tuned slightly off to create
“shimmering” sound
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“Kosalia Arini”
CD example (2:5) older piece but
notice more asymmetical, less “stiff”
quality than Javanese
By Wayan Beratha
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Balinese
Gamelan
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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Indonesian Popular Music
Many popular styles
Example: Krakatau
CD 2:6 Shufflendang-Shufflending
(excerpt)
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Terms & Ideas to know
Gamelan
Tuning and scales (Pélog and Sléndro)
Gendhing
Loud and Soft Playing styles
Differences between Bali and Java
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Homework:
due Wednesday, 4/12
Online Quiz
Questions:
1. What is a gendhing, and what are the roles of each
gamelan instrument in a Javanese gendhing?
2. What features of the Balinese gamelan gong kebyar
music (“Kosalia Arini”) compare & contrast with the
two Javanese gamelan examples?
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