A History of Gamelan

Music gamelan is cleary not be foreign.its it have axtended various continent and have peeped out solidarity of new music jazz-gamelan,bearing instution as room learn nad music expression of gamelan,till yield musician of gamelan distinguin for.Music performace. Of gamelan nowayday can enjoy various world cleft ,but yogyakarta most precise place to enjoy gamelan because town this can enjoy original version

Gamelan expanding yogyakarta gamelan java,a form of gamelan different with gamelan bali and or gamelan sunda,gamelan java have blander tone and slow,differing from lively gamelan bali and gamelan sunda which very heave.and predominated flute voice.diferent fair,because java have separated life view which laid open in its music rhytym him

View live java which laid open its music him compatibility of life of spirit and bodily,compatibility in conversing and acting soi that not peep out expresiion which and also realized tolerance between humanity.real form in its music string attraction of rebab which,is well-balancerd sound of kenong,kendand saron and of gambangf and also voice gong in each

A set gamelan consist of some cantanets,among others a set of similiar castanets drum of is so –called kendang,and rebab of celempung,gambang,bamboo flute and gong. Especial component which compile castanetss of gamelan bamboo,metal,and wood.each appliance have separate fuction in music performace.of gameloan for example gong share to close a long music rhythm and give balance after previously muisic decorated by javanese musicial rhytm.

You can see gamelan as a show of separated music and also as attendant of show art or dance like shadow play and ketoprak.As a separated show,music of gamelan usually allied bt ear singer of java referred wiraswara and singer of woman referred waranggana.Show off music of gamelan performed nowaydays can represent contemporary classic gamelan and or.one of form of gamelan contemporary jazz-gamelan representing music impressing and pentatonis of diatonis.while to see peripheral of old gamelan,you can to barn of kraton located other more rear.

Gamelan music is the sum of diverse foreign influences. Pitch relationships from China , bronze instruments from southeast Asia, drums and modal practice from India , bowed strings from the middle east, and even military styles from Europe contributed to the traditional music we hear in Java and Bali today.

The First Gamelan

Among the earliest evidence of gamelan instruments is a series of stone relief carvings on the Borobudur Buddhist temple in central Java (ca. 800ad).

The reliefs of Borobudur and other central Javanese temples of the period, including Prambanan and Candi Sari, depict many other instruments including zithers, lutes, harps, vessel drums (gatam), and transverse flutes. Most are extinct in Indonesia today and may have never really existed on the islands, possibly carved from memory by mainland artisans. Only the bar instrument, cymbals, and drums remain. Notably absent from all reliefs of this period are gongs.

The First Gongs

Gongs first appear in the carvings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, among temples of the Majapahit Hindu empire. These depictions show small gongs, often mounted in pairs on a stick or hanging singly from a cord in the hand and played with a padded mallet. Also evident are significant advancements in bar instruments since the time of Borobudur, including four-mallet gambang style xylophones of a type still used in Bali for cremation rites. Suspended bar gangsa and gender as well as saron with resting bars can be found. The earliest evidence of tuned acoustic resonators, bamboo tubes which amplify the sound of the bars, also appears in this period.

Gongs most probably did not originate in Indonesia. There is no evidence of the development of bronze gongs in Indonesia before the thirteenth century. They simply appear in the record as highly refined instruments, complete with an embossed center and deep shell. Mainland Asia , however, displays a much wider variety of bronze gong styles, including shallower shells, flat faces, and a clear developmental lineage.

Ancient literature suggests that gongs may have been known and used in Indonesia as early as the ninth century. Their original use may have been as instruments of battle, a sound used to encourage soldiers as it instilled fear in their enemies. But, their absence from the earliest stone record suggests that they were either relatively uncommon until that time. Perhaps they were not an instrument of the ruling class, or had no religiously important purpose.

Bali and Java Split

In the fourteenth century, people from the middle east introduced the religion of Islam and the fall of the Majapahit empire began. Those who wished to remain Hindu were exiled to Bali , where they remained relatively isolated for hundreds of years.

The gamelan we hear in Bali today is a direct, almost pure, descendant of the music of the Majapahit period. Many instruments in Bali are exactly the same as those recorded by stone carvers in east Java over six centuries ago. But, while the tools of the trade have remained similar, the music has changed and developed. Every generation of musicians in Bali puts their personal stamp on the music. An added variation here, a new section there, or another composition for a particular ritual, add up considerably over six hundred years. Changes in popular taste also had an effect.

The Javanese Mataram empire is responsible for advancing bronze foundry techniques to produce the very large gongs which have become a staple of modern Javanese and Balinese gamelan. The village of Semarang on the north coast of central Java became the new Indonesian center for gong making, supplying instruments to most of Java, Sumatra, Bali, Borneo , and surrounding islands.

The use and purpose of gamelan music in Java was also revised by Mataram. Originally, gamelan was played in outdoor temples for religious rites, to inspire trance and to invite ancestral spirits. But, in Java religious worship was redirected to the royal courts and the old Hindu and Buddhist temples were left to decay. This change of environment gave rise to many of the aesthetic differences between Balinese and Javanese musical styles. Music in Java moved from open air temples to large roofed platforms within the royal court. Mallets were softened to allow the instruments to reverberate within the space in a more pleasing manner. Forms were also slowed down and elongated to take advantage of the new acoustics and lend austerity to the court. Music became largely a cerebral pursuit of the aristocracy and musicians became servants of the courts.

The Twentieth Century

The last hundred years has brought great changes in both Balinese and Javanese music. Older Balinese musicians speak of times when tempos were slow and variations less intense. Older Javanese musicians relate stories of now rare grand court events and lost compositions. Balinese kebyar style is a product of this century, as is the bonang imbal and kembangan playing techniques so typical of today's Javanese sound.

Gamelan music continues to change and evolve in both style and purpose. Government performing arts schools are the new patrons driving the future. Students in these institutions are required to create new music and dance, expanding the scope and popularity of gamelan both at home and around the world.