Gamelan-the Facts

Gamelan is a type of Indonesian music that

originated on the island of Java.

Javanese Gamelan was taken to Bali in the 15th

century.

Map

Gamelan-the Facts

There are two main types of

Gamelan, Javanese and Balinese.
Both are of great importance to
the Asian musical culture and
are used for religious, political
and entertainment purposes.
Balinese Gamelan can be
identified from Javanese
because of its quicker pace and
brighter tonality.

Gamelan Instruments
The Gamelan ensemble
mainly consists of tuned
percussion instruments:

The Xylophones these

are called Gangsa Ugal,
Calung, Jegogan which
are made of bronze or
bamboo. These
instruments sometimes
provide the melody and
improvised flourishes.

Gangsa

Gamelan Instruments
A drum called the Kendang
and a set of small cymbals
called Cengceng
contribute to the rhythmic
background
of
the music.

There is also a two

string fiddle called the
Rebab and a bamboo
flute called a Suling
which is mainly used in
theatrical performances.

Kendang

Cengceng

Gamelan instruments
The Gongs there are
several types. The Kemong,
Kempur and Gong are
suspended from a frame.
They are used to mark time
in the music and to mark
the beginning and end of
sections.

Kemong, Kempur, Gong

The Trompong and Reyong

are set in a long wooden stand.
The Trompong contains 10
kettles
and
is
a
solo
instrument The Reyong has 12
kettles and has 4 players. Like
the xylophones these provide
improvised flourishes.

Reyong

Ketuk

Listening
In this example the gongs that define
the sections can be heard clearly

balines e1.ram

In this example it is possible to

hear the decoration

Structure
Gamelan

music is like a tree

Trunk=Bass line
Branches=melody
Leaves=ornamentation

Trunk
Melody is played by the lower
instruments
Is slower as a bass line

Branches
Melody

is known as a nuclear melody

Learnt aurally by Gamelan musicians.
Used by the rest of the group in the
different layers.

Gongs

Each section of music is marked by

different types of gongs.
There are four gongs.
The smallest marks the shortest passing
of time.
The two middle gongs mark every four
beats.
The largest gong marks the end of a
musical phrase or section.

Structure Summary
When

thinking about structure in

Gamelan music, there are two
important ideas:
The nuclear melody is used in the
structuring of the different layers.
The gongs are used to provide
structure of the musical phrases.

Composition Task
Compose a piece of gamelan music
using the trunk - branch - leaves structure

What you should know

Students should examine Indonesian gamelan music. They should understand that the gamelan is
regarded as one large instrument with many players performing on a variety of gongs,
metallophones and drums. They should explore and experiment with the musical characteristics
such as the heterophonic layering of sounds and the two scales, slendro (5 note) and pelog
(7 note). They should be aware that gamelans have spiritual significance for Indonesians and
that performances form an important part of community life. Gamelan forms the basis of
shadow puppet plays, poetry, dance, drama, traditional rituals and ceremonies. Students should
be aware that the oral tradition was traditionally used to train musicians and that, although there
is a numerical system of notation it is only used as a memory aid and not in performance
(Taken from the edexel sylabus)
Informative web site about Gamelan