Gamelan

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Gamelan
Chapter Twelve
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Map of Indonesia
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Gamelan (Indonesian Musical Ensemble)

• Most Common Ensembles
• Instruments made of Bronze
• Instruments made of Bamboo

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Basic structural groups of the Gamelan
instruments--

• Wilah--bars and plates
• Pencon--gong-like instruments

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Wilah (bars and plates)
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Wilah
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Pencon (Knobbed, mostly gongs)
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Pencon
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Pencon
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Wilah

• Gender Bronze metallophone with 10 or more
  metal bars resting on bamboo resonators , one for
  each bar--played with disc-shaped wooden mallets.
• large gender gede
• small gender barangan
• Saron--- Bronze metallophone with 5-7 metal bars
  resting over a carved out wooden trough which
  serves as a pedestal and resonator--played with
  wooden mallets.
• Calung--5 metal bars

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Gender
Saron
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Pencon

• Gong Ageng--largest and deepest suspended
  gong--starts and ends the complete metric cycle.
• Kempyang--A very small gong laid over laced cord
  strung across the opening of a small box, played
  with a cord-wrapped stick. The kempyang
  alternates with the ketuk to further subdivide
  the cycle
• Ketuk---A small gong laid over cord strung across
  the opening of a small box, played with a
  cord-wrapped stick. The ketuk divides the kenong
  period of the cycle.

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Gong Ageng and other suspended gongs (kempuls)
Kempyang and Ketuk
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Other Instruments
Flutes
Ceng-ceng (Cymbals)
Rebab
Kendang
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Musical Characteristics

• Scales
• Slendro--five note scale, dividing the octave
  into five nearly equal parts
• Pelog--seven tone scale, although only five of
  the seven pitches are typically used
  at one time. ---five and seven note
  octave causes shimmering sound
• Texture
• Monophonic texture--rarely
• Heterophonic texture--more than one version of
  the melody is
  played at same time--used often
• Polyphonic texture (kotekan)

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Gamelan Music Accompanies

• Religious Functions
• Ritual Gatherings
• Temple Festivals
• Dance Dramas
• Social Dancing
• Shadow Puppet Theater (Wayang Kulit)

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Wayang Kulit

• Shadow Puppet Theater
• Dalang (Puppetmaster/Priest)
• Based on religious subjects
• Parables
• Myths
• Or current topics of the day
• Social
• Political

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The ancient Indonesian art of shadow play or
"Wayang Kulit" is a unique combination of ritual,
lesson, and entertainment. Lacy shadow images are
projected on a taught linen screen with a coconut
oil lamp or electric light. The Dalang, or shadow
artist, manipulates carved leather figures
between the lamp and the screen to bring the
shadows to life.
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Most shadow play is based on two epic stories
from India. The Mahabarata and it's sister work,
the Ramayana.