Gamelan is the word used to describe an Indonesian orchestra made up mainly of tuned percussion instruments.

Gamelan music

People playing gamelan instruments in the UK

The word 'gamelan' means 'to hammer'. Gamelan music is found mainly in Bali and Java, the two styles differ but are based on the same principles.
Gamelan music:

• has political and religious roots and plays an important part in sustaining traditional life
• is heard at celebrations and theatre performances. It is used to accompany shadow puppet plays, poetry and drama
• is not normally written down but passed on through oral tradition - players learn by mastering techniques and memorising the music
• is played together as a group and emphasises community over individual values 

 

Instruments

A gamelan is a set of instruments consisting mainly of gongs, metallophones (instruments with rows of tuned metal bars that are struck with mallets) and drums. Some gamelans include bamboo flutes (suling), bowed strings (rebab) and vocalists. Each gamelan has a different tuning and the instruments are kept together as a set. No two gamelans are the same.

Listen to Jauk Masal played by Gong Kebyar. The first instruments you'll hear are the kendang (two-headed drum) and the ugal (two-octave metallophone).

Structure

People playing gamelan instruments in the UK

The music is made up of interlocking layers. Each layer is played by a different instrument. The layers are usually based on a core melodic line called a balungan. The texture is heterophonic (made up of a main melody played at the same time as variants of it).
Gamelan music is characterised by the following:

• the lower the pitch, the longer the note values
• the highest layers are for virtuoso solo instruments played very fast
• the lowest gongs are often played by beginners
• the music is divided into four beat groups called keteg
• gongs of different sizes are used to mark cycles of music known as the gongan 

Tonality

Two different tuning systems are used - slendro (a five-note scale) and pelog (a seven-note scale).

Composing

Create a gamelan sound by using classroom percussion such as glockenspiels and xylophones plus any suitable electronic keyboard pre-sets and homemade gongs. Use the five-note scale E F A B C and construct the music in layers. Give the lower pitched instruments longer note values and the higher pitched instruments shorter note values.

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