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GAMELAN
GAMELAN
Gamelan is an important part of
Indonesian Culture
• Gamelan music comes from the islands
of JAVA and BALI in Indonesia.
• Gamelan is played at celebrations,
religious events and as part of
entertainment.
Information about Gamelan
• It is played by a kind of percussion orchestra.
There can be between 4 and 40 instruments in a
Balinese gamelan and between 15 to 20 in a
gamelan from Java.
• Unlike an orchestra (which is seen as a collection
of individual instruments), Indonesians think of a
gamelan as one single instrument.
• All players (and the parts they play) are equally
important, and should merge to make ‘one
sound’
• Gamelan instruments are made in sets with
lots of carved and painted decoration. They
are also decorated and tuned in the same way
so that they all match (if you were to take one
instrument from one Gamelan to another, it
wouldn’t match, would look VERY out of place
and would also sound wrong)
MAGICAL & SPIRITUAL
• People in Indonesia believe the
instruments have a tie to Heaven
and never step over the instruments
for fear of breaking the ‘connection’.
• Also, people do not play the
Gamelan for fun. They are chosen
• Finally, Gamelan music is never written down.
It is learnt ‘by ear’ and players don’t learn just
one part, they are expected to learn ALL the
parts and understand how the WHOLE THING
fits and works together
SCALES
• There are TWO SCALES used in Gamelan music.
• The notes have numbers rather than names.
The 5-note scale is called SLENDRO
The 7-note scale is called PELOG
4-PARTS
• There are four main parts in a gamelan piece
• The main tune is called the BALUNGAN (Java) or
POKOK (Bali) and is played by the metallophone
• Other instruments are used decorate the main
tune.
• Gongs mark the rhythm
• Drummers cue performers and keep tempo.