BALINESE GAMELAN MUSIC. Gamelan – What is it? Traditional Indonesian musical ensemble, mainly in...
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Transcript of BALINESE GAMELAN MUSIC. Gamelan – What is it? Traditional Indonesian musical ensemble, mainly in...
GLOBAL SOUND BITES~ A LISTENING PERSPECTIVE ON WORLD CULTURES ~
BALINESE GAMELAN MUSIC
Gamelan – What is it?• Traditional Indonesian musical
ensemble, mainly in Bali and Java • Consists of following instruments:
metallophones, xylophones, kendang (drums), gongs, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings
• Of special consideration are the metallophones and gongs as highly developed percussion instruments made of bronze / metal are featured prominently in the indigenous music of Southeast Asia
Gamelan – What is it?
Gamelan – How is it notated?
• Traditionally, no notation and learnt through oral tradition
• However, in modern times kepatihan notation is used
• In this notation, the pitches corresponding to a particular note / “bar” on the metallophones are numbered
Gamelan – Commonly used pitches
• Recall – Major and/or Minor scale in Western Music
• Major pentatonic scale in Chinese Guqin music and minor pentatonic scale in Japanese Shakuhachi music
• In both Balinese and Javanese Gamelan music, the slendro and pelog scales are used
Gamelan – Commonly used pitches• Slendro scale, an approximation
using Western notation
• Pelog scale, , an approximation using Western notation
• Usually, only 5 pitches are used.
Gamelan Music – Musical Essentials• Western Music – Focus is on
Harmony• Recall 12-bar blues – Bass progression
(foundation of Harmony) is the “identity” and “driving force”
• Gamelan Music – Focus is on interlocking units (melodic motifs) and “adding layers” (“layers” of melodies at “different speeds”) to produce a coherent whole• Reflects the societal emphasis on the
community rather than the individual
• Balinese Gamelan musicians relish practising hard to be able to change the tempo (speed) and dynamics suddenly as an ensemble
Gamelan Music – An example of a notated score
Name: _____________________________________ Class: ______________ Date: ________________________
Pelog Scale: 1 2 3 5 6Approximated by E F G B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi
Soprano 1 - 1 - 6 1 - 6 1 - 5 - 6 5 - 6 5 - 6 - 5 6 - 5 6 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 1
Soprano 2 6 - 5 6 - 5 6 - 6 - 1 6 - 1 6 - 5 - 3 5 - 3 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 2 -
Alto 6 1 6 5 1 6 5 3 2 1
Bass 1 1 5 6 1
Bass 2 5 1
Gong / Drum T
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi
Soprano 1 - 3 - 2 3 - 2 3 - 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 6 - 5 6 - 5 6 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 5
Soprano 2 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 1 - 6 1 - 6 1 - 2 - 4 5 - 3 5 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 3 -
Alto 2 3 1 2 5 6 3 5
Bass 1 3 2 6 5
Bass 2 2 5
Gong / Drum G
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi
Soprano 1 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XSoprano 2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XAlto X X X X X X X X X X Bass 1 X X X XBass 2 X XGong / Drum X
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi ta ka di mi
Soprano 1 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XSoprano 2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XAlto X X X X X X X X X X Bass 1 X X X XBass 2 X XGong / Drum X