1. MUSI 3721Y University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus John Anderson
Music of Indonesia
MUSI 3721Y
University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus
John Anderson

2. General Musical Characteristics
Music of Central Java usually has four layers of activity
basic melody
elaboration
rhythmic punctuation (“colotomic structure”)
and cyclical forms

3. General Musical Characteristics
In Bali we have:
A kotekan and
An ostinato
The term kotekan implies the interlocking of two or more instruments in the ensemble
Ostinato mean repeating melody or bass line. There’s no interruption or variation

4. General Musical Characteristics
Let me sing a simple 3-note ostinato for you
To create a kotekan find a partner and lay your hands interlocked and flat on the desk. Count out a 4-beat rhythm

5. Dynamics
Javanese music can generally be divided between loud- and soft-style pieces
This is achieved through adding or subtracting instruments of varying density

6. Javanese vs. Balinese
Javanese styles are much more predictable and orderly
Balinese styles are more “virtuosic” to our ears, having more fluctuations in dynamics and tempo

7. Tuning There is no concept of standard pitch
Each gamelan has its own individual tuning
You cannot take an instrument from one gamelan and expect it to be “in tune” with the instruments of another ensemble

8. Tuning
There are two different scale systems (laras), each of which has three modes (patet)
Slendro is a five-tone scale
It uses pitches
Its patets are called Nem, Sanga, Manyura

9. Tuning Pelog is a seven-tone scale It uses pitches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
It also has three patets called Lima, Nem, and Barang
Each patet only draws upon a selection of five pitches

10. Instrument Functions and Formal Principles
The three levels of musical activity in gamelan music are coordinated by the drummer
They are:
Melody
Elaboration
Rhythmic punctuation

11. Melody Balunga (“skeleton”) Main melody or close variation
Played in three different ranges by sarons and a single slentem
High, medium and low ranges

12. Elaboration Bunga, (“flowering”)
Higher register instruments–bonang and gender
In quieter pieces, rebab, gambang, celempung, suling, and pesindhen (solo female singer) ornament the tune by subdividing the beat

13. Rhythmic Punctuation Colotomic structure Conceived cyclically
The big gong marks the longest units
Kenong and kempul subdivide the cycle
Ketuk and kempyang provide tertiary punctuation
The number of beats and particular arrangement of punctuation in a cycle determine the form of a composition

14. Buburan “Udan Mas” (Golden Rain) Laras Pelog, Patet Barang
As the full title tells us, “Udan Mas” (“Golden Rain”) is a piece in buburan form
It’s a 16-beat gong cycle with four kenong phrases–called kenongan–each of 4 beats
It uses the barang mode of the pelog scale
A buburan is a closing piece, played at the end of a function as the audience departs

15. Buburan “Udan Mas” (Golden Rain) Laras Pelog, Patet Barang
“Udan Mas” is a simple loud-style piece with only two phrases
Each phrase is repeated
AA BB AA BB
It begins with a short introduction (buka) played by the lower of the two bonangs
Can you pick out the balungan played by the sarons? That is the basic beat
Can you find the colotomic punctuation?

16. Buburan “Udan Mas” (Golden Rain) Laras Pelog, Patet Barang
The kempul and large gong are easiest to hear since the sound of hanging gongs carries better than the suspended kenong and ketuk kettles
Each large gong stroke marks the last beat of the buburan cycle
Anything playing faster than the saron is an elaborating instrument
For example, the saron panerus plays at a ratio of 2:1 to the main saron line
Bonangs play at ratios of 2:1, 4:1, or 8:1, depending on tempo

17. Ketawang “Puspawarna”(Kinds of Flowers) Laras Slendro, Patet Manyura
Puspawarna is a piece in ketawang form, another 16-beat gong cycle
But this time with two kenongan, each of 8 beats
It uses the manyura mode of the slendro scale
This more complex “soft style” piece is performed for the entrance of a prince

18. Kebyar “Teruna” This is a typical example of the gong kebyar style
The frequent changes of tempo, dynamics, and mood allow the solo dancer to express a wide range of moods and emotions
Musically, the composition is a series of ostinato patterns of different lengths
The fantastic speed of the metallophones is possible because several performers play interlocking parts (kotekan)

19. Kebyar “Teruna”
The Balinese rule of thumb is that if one player can play so fast, four players can play four times as fast.
In the slow, quiet sections, “soft style” instruments, particularly the suling (bamboo flute), can be heard
In Central Javanese style you would not expect both soft- and loud-style instruments to play in the same piece

20. Tabuh Empat Pagawak A typical old style piece for gamelan gong gede
It contrasts the newer kebyar style
The meandering trompong introduction is starkly different to the explosive beginning of "Teruna" of the previous example
The stately progression of the melody when the whole ensemble enters is rigidly organized with a regular meter and equally regular ornamentation and orchestration

21. Dangdut Quran Dan Koran (excerpt)
This contemporary recording prominently features synthesizers in both the lead and supporting roles
The synthesized “voices” imitate traditional instrument sounds, while also setting them in a more modern context

22. Discussion Questions
How may Westerners conceptualize colotomic structures in Western music?
What caused the divergences of Javanese and Balinese music in the fifteenth-century, and then in the twentieth-century?
Why can Indonesia be labeled a “bronze culture”?
What other cultures can we list that are influenced by a material as bronze is to Indonesia?

23. Discussion Questions
In what other world music cultures might we find interlocking?
Where might we find Western, African, Asian, Native America or folk European equivalents to Balinese musical instruments that contain spirits?
How may shadow play be compared to opera or ballet?

24. Discussion Questions Effects of Tourism on Traditional Music:
What acculturations had Balinese music made in the twentieth-century, and how/why was it beneficial?
What were the forces that created Arabic and then Portuguese influences on Indonesian popular music?
Effects of Tourism on Traditional Music:
This is a good place to discuss the effects of tourism on local cultures, the phenomenon of the cultural attraction, and the growing standardization of traditions. In Bali, new genres, developed to entertain tourists, are accepted by Balinese themselves as part of “traditional” culture
What is traditional? Is this syncretism or hegemony?