Where is this music from? What instruments can you hear? Describe the texture?

THE GAMELAN

All the way from Indonesia… From the islands of Java and Bali

The gamelan is a percussion orchestra, Consisting of many instruments… It is played by many people within Indonesian communities

The Legend The ancient God SangHyang Guru ruled over all of Java from Mount Lawu He used a mighty gong To gather all the gods and spirits Together… as more gongs were added, The Gamelan was created

The Gamelan in society Because of the spiritual origins of the gamelan Every instrument in the orchestra is highly respected in society. Each instrument is considered to be linked to a God or spirit, And must be looked after and respected. It is important never to step over a gamelan instrument – Showing the sole of your foot to the spirit is highly disrespectful!

The Gamelan is played at many events It can be played indoors - The “Soft” style It can be played outdoors - the “Loud” style It can also accompany shadow puppet plays, poetry readings, and dancing too

Here are some of the LOUD instruments The Saron A type of xylophone with bronze bars There are three types, Each a bit bigger and lower sounding The bonang The bonang is a double row of bronze kettles. Again, there are three types. The kendang Kendang are double-ended Drums made from wood And animal skin

Here are some of the SOFT instruments The Slentem Made of bronze bars suspended over a bamboo frame The Gender Very similar to a slentem but the playing technique is harder – the player must dampen each note. The gambang The only instrument with wooden bars instead of bronze

Phrase Instruments The following instruments are in both ensembles, and are used to keep the beat and mark phrases in the music. The Gong Ageng The spiritual heart of the Gamelan The Kempul Smaller, hanging gongs Kenong and Ketuk Bronze kettles used for small beats The Kenong has a long sound The Ketuk has a shorter sound

Other instruments Some of the other instruments you may hear playing with the gamelan The Rebab A small two-stringed instrument The Suling Rather like a wooden flute And of course… Singing and dancing!!

Scales and notes The gamelan uses two different scales…. This 5 note scale is called Slendro…. Here is a piece of Slendro music

Scales and notes The other scale is called Pelog – it uses 7 notes It is considered more noble than slendro And is sometimes used for meditation. Here is a piece of Pelog music…

The Modern Gamelan The modern gamelan combines enough instruments To play both in the loud and soft styles, And also pieces using both types of scales. Some gamelan pieces even move from one style to another Or from one scale to another. Here is a piece of modern gamelan music…

The popularity of the gamelan In recent years, gamelan music has been growing in popularity in countries all over the world. The community spirit and playability of the instruments means that everyone can join in and make extraordinary music!!

The End