GAMELAN

Music from Indonesia

Indonesia

The

Republic of Indonesia lies between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Key Indonesian Facts

Indonesia is a nation made up of about 17,500 islands in South East Asia.

With a population of over 200 million, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation.
The nation's capital city is Jakarta.

MUSIC OF INDONESIA
Indonesia is so culturally diverse, and every one of the 17,500 islands has its own cultural and artistic history and character.
This results in hundreds of different forms of music, which often accompanies dance and theatre. The most popular and famous form of Indonesian music is GAMELAN. Gamelan is an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that include metalophones, drums and gongs. Gamelan is mainly from Java and Bali.

When is Gamelan Orchestra used?

The word "gamelan" is a Javanese word meaning "orchestra," referring to the instruments that make up the ensemble. These ensembles can range from few portable instruments, played by three or four musicians, to a large ensemble with as many as twenty-five musicians and between ten to fifteen singers. Many communities have their own gamelans.

There are gamelans in the UK, notably at the South Bank Centre in London.

THE GAMELAN ORCHESTRA

METALLOPHONES

GONGS

The soul of the gamelan is believed to reside in the large gong, or gong ageng. Other gongs are tuned to each note of the scale and include ketuk, kenong and kempul.

DRUMS - Kendhang

Lancaran Cobowo - Performance

Balungan D E D A C A

G G

E E

D A

E G

G E

Peking DD EE DD GG AA CC AA GG

EE DD EE GG EE AA GG EE

LANCARAN COBOWO
Balungan D E D A C A G G E E D A E G G E

Peking DD EE DD GG EE DD EE GG AA CC AA GG EE AA GG EE

Kenong D E A E

E E

A D