Indonesian Gamelan Music



Sampling the unique, magical sound of a Balinese Gamelan is no small undertaking. The 25 instruments that make up The LSO’s Semara Dana Gamelan Ensemble had to be recorded in great detail, as if each were to be a sample library in its own right. Any compromise in the number of velocity layers or the round robin alternate samples could result in the whole living, breathing sound losing realism and dynamic expression.

The Professional Edition

The flagship set is composed of single and paired Kontakt versions of the Gamelan instruments (click on picture above). As many of the metallophones are played as a detuned pair, for convenience we have grouped them this way, including KSP scripting to humanise the velocity and timing for a natural response. Paired instruments also feature separate volume and pan controls. Smaller percussive instruments like the Kempli are grouped together, with KSP level and pan controls for fine tuning.
Natural Programming and Lifelike Articulation

All possible articulations and variations have been meticulously recorded and programmed into the Professional Edition instruments. Keyswitches are used in the metallophones to provide the two articulations, free and damped attacks. The two kendang drums are mapped with various types of hits, separated into the left and right hands/drum heads, as well as strikes with the pangul, a wooden drumstick. The Kempli, Bebende and Kajar are recorded open and damped, each with a selection of different beaters. Each hit of every instrument has many alternative samples, to ensure that ‘machine-gunning’ never occurs - essential in an instrument that plays such dense percussive sequences.
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About Gamelan

A Gamelan is an ensemble of instruments originating from Indonesia. The majority of Gamelan instruments are percussive, and most of these are bronze. They include xylophone-like metallophones of different sizes and pitch, tuned gong chimes, very large pitched gongs, and an assortment of drums and percussion. There are many types of Gamelan ensembles, but the two dominant types are Javanese and Balinese. Balinese Gamelan has a characteristic ’shimmering’ sound which is due to the detuning of paired instruments playing the same musical part.

Although Gamelan music has been around for centuries (there is evidence of instruments existing before 800 AD), it is very much a living music in Indonesia, and is growing in popularity in the west. Styles keep evolving and new Gamelan music is being written all the time. Balinese “Gong Kebyar”, a particularly flamboyant style, has dominated much of the century and is probably Bali’s most famous export.

Gamelan music is very much about the collective - it has been described as ‘a negotiation between musicians’. Many of the musicians play interlocking parts, in which alternate notes are shared between two instruments. This technique enables the ensemble to play incredibly fast passages.



Gamelan music is not clear that foreign. Popularity has penetrated various continents and has been automatically mix music new-jazz gamelan, birth institutions as learning spaces and expressions gamelan music, to the famous gamelan musicians. The gamelan music now can be enjoyed in various parts of the world, but Yogyakarta is the most appropriate place to enjoy the gamelan in the city because this is you can enjoy the original version.

Gamelan developing in Yogyakarta Gamelan Java is a different form of gamelan with Gamelan Gamelan Bali and Sunda. Javanese gamelan has a more gentle tone and slow, unlike the Bali Gamelan Gamelan Sunda smart and a very mendayu-dominated sound dayu and flute. The difference is reasonable, because Java has a distinctive view of life expressed in music rhythm gamelannya.

Java is a view of life expressed in music is harmony gamelannya physical and spiritual life, in harmony, so to speak and act does not display the expression of the explosives-ledak and create tolerance among the people. Exist in the real music is pulling ropes that are fiddle, balanced sound mix kenong, saron kendang and xylophone and gong sound in the rhythm of each cover.

There is no clarity about the history of the emergence of gamelan. The development of gamelan music is the appearance since kentongan, fiddle, hand to mouth, rubbing the thin rope or bamboo to dikenalnya instrument of metal. Development of the next named after the gamelan, the music used to accompany this Pagelaran puppets, and dance. Then at some time after it was established as the music itself and equipped with the voice sinden.

A gamelan consists of several musical instruments, including a set of similar musical instrument drum called kendang, fiddle and zither, xylophone, gong and the bamboo flute. The main components of preparing the equipment is bamboo gamelan music, metal, and wood. Each instrument has a distinctive function in Pagelaran gamelan music, for example, a role close gong music is a rhythm and balance long after the music decorated by gending rhythm.

Javanese gamelan is music with a tone pentatonis. One complete game gamelan consists of two cycles, namely slendro and pelog. Slendro has 5 tones per octave, ie 1 2 3 5 6 [C-D E + GA] with small differences in the interval. Pelog have 7 tones per octave, ie 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [C + D-E F # G # AB] with the difference that large intervals. Gamelan music composition was created with a few rules, which consist of several rounds and pathet, limited by a gongan and melodinya created in the unit that consists of 4 tones.

You can see gamelan music as a distinctive and as escort dance or performing arts such as wayang kulit and ketoprak. As a solitary performance, gamelan music is usually combined with the voice of the cantor Java (called wiraswara male vocalist and female vocalist called waranggana). Gamelan music performed by the gamelan now be a classic or contemporary. One form is a contemporary jazz gamelan-gamelan which is a blend blend music pentatonis and pitched diatonis.

One of the places in Yogyakarta where you can see gamelan performance is the Kraton Yogyakarta. On Thursday at 10.00 - 12.00 WIB held gamelan music as a solitary. Saturday at the same time as the gamelan music performed puppet surrounding skin, while on Sunday at the same time performed by gamelan music as a traditional Javanese dance suite. To see pertunjukannya, you can go to Sri Maganti Bangsal. While the device to see the old gamelan, you can go to another ward Palace which is located further to the rear.

Example:


Figure 1 - A basic layout of the instruments (From J Lindsay, Javanese Gamelan, 33)

Figure 2
- Central Javanese gamelan instruments (From J T Titon [ed.], Worlds of Music, 235)