Gamelan joged bumbung
Encyclopedia
Joged bumbung is a style of gamelan
music from Bali
, Indonesia
on instruments made primarily out of bamboo
. The ensemble gets its name from joged
, a flirtatious dance often performed at festivals and parties. This style of Gamelan is especially popular in Northern and Western Bali, but is easily found all over the island. Unlike many styles of Balinese Gamelan which have sacred roles in religious festivals, Joged music is much more secular, and in many ways has become the folk music of Bali. With the rapid rise of tourism in recent decades, Joged music is now often found being performed at hotels and restaurants.
The bamboo instruments of the Joged, called Grantang or more commonly Tingklik, are marimba
-like instruments made out of bamboo. 11 to 14 bamboo canes, split halfway down their length, are then carved so that a closed tube resonator remains on the un-split half. The completed keys are mounted to a wooden or bamboo frame with string or rubber strips. Striking the keys with rubber tipped mallets called pangguls results in a dry sound with little sustain
. The instruments are played with both hands: the left hand plays the melody on the lower register, while the right hand plays a faster elaborated version of the melody. When the fast elaboration is too fast for one person to play alone, it is broken into two interlocking parts in a style called Kotekan
.
Most ensembles are tuned to a slendro
scale, except in Northern and Western Bali where pelog
scales are more common. A typical ensemble will have 4 to 6 grantangs and are accompanied by Suling
(flute
s), Kendang
(Drum
), Ceng-ceng (cymbal
s), and a beat keeping instrument made out of bamboo or bronze
. There will also be gongs of various types and a larger bass gramtang called a Jegog playing the underlying melody. In recent years ensembles that incorporate bronze instruments have become more popular and often play compositions from the Gamelan Gong Kebyar
repertoire.
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
music from Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
on instruments made primarily out of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
. The ensemble gets its name from joged
Joged
Joged is a common word for dance in Indonesia. Joged is also a style of dance from the Island of Bali. The dance is typically accompanied by a gamelan ensemble of bamboo instruments called a gamelan joged bumbung....
, a flirtatious dance often performed at festivals and parties. This style of Gamelan is especially popular in Northern and Western Bali, but is easily found all over the island. Unlike many styles of Balinese Gamelan which have sacred roles in religious festivals, Joged music is much more secular, and in many ways has become the folk music of Bali. With the rapid rise of tourism in recent decades, Joged music is now often found being performed at hotels and restaurants.
The bamboo instruments of the Joged, called Grantang or more commonly Tingklik, are marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
-like instruments made out of bamboo. 11 to 14 bamboo canes, split halfway down their length, are then carved so that a closed tube resonator remains on the un-split half. The completed keys are mounted to a wooden or bamboo frame with string or rubber strips. Striking the keys with rubber tipped mallets called pangguls results in a dry sound with little sustain
Sustain
In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
. The instruments are played with both hands: the left hand plays the melody on the lower register, while the right hand plays a faster elaborated version of the melody. When the fast elaboration is too fast for one person to play alone, it is broken into two interlocking parts in a style called Kotekan
Kotekan
Kotekan is a style of playing fast interlocking parts in most varieties of Balinese Gamelan music, including Gamelan gong kebyar, Gamelan angklung, Gamelan jegog and others. In kotekan there are two independent parts called polos and sangsih, each of which fills in the gaps of the other to form a...
.
Most ensembles are tuned to a slendro
Slendro
Slendro is a pentatonic scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music, the other being pélog.-Tuning:...
scale, except in Northern and Western Bali where pelog
Pelog
Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. The other scale commonly used is called slendro. Pelog has seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have keys for five of the pitches...
scales are more common. A typical ensemble will have 4 to 6 grantangs and are accompanied by Suling
Suling
A suling or Seruling is an Indonesian bamboo ring flute. It is used in gamelan ensembles.Depending on the regional genre, a suling can be tuned into different scales...
(flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s), Kendang
Kendang
Kendhang is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia....
(Drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
), Ceng-ceng (cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s), and a beat keeping instrument made out of bamboo or bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
. There will also be gongs of various types and a larger bass gramtang called a Jegog playing the underlying melody. In recent years ensembles that incorporate bronze instruments have become more popular and often play compositions from the Gamelan Gong Kebyar
Gamelan gong kebyar
Gamelan gong kebyar is a style or genre of Balinese gamelan music. Kebyar means "the process of flowering", and refers to the explosive changes in tempo and dynamics characteristic of the style. It is the most popular form of gamelan in Bali, and its best known musical export...
repertoire.