Music of Java
Encyclopedia
The Music of Java embraces a wide variety of styles, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting the diversity of the island and its lengthy history
. Apart from traditional forms that maintain connections to musical styles many centuries old, there are also many unique styles and conventions which combine elements from many other regional influences, including those of neighbouring Asian cultures and European colonial forms.
orchestra, based on metallic idiophone
s and drum
s, is perhaps the form which is most readily identified as being distinctly "Javanese" by outsiders. In various forms, it is ubiquitous to Southeast Asia
. In Java, the full gamelan
also adds a bowed string instrument
(the rebab
, a name illustrative of Islamic influence), plucked siter
, vertical flute suling
and voices. The rebab is one of the main melodic instruments of the ensemble, together with the metallophone gendér
; these and the kendang
drums are often played by the most experienced musicians. Voices usually consist of a male chorus gerong
, together with a female soloist pesindhen
; however, the voices are not usually featured in court gamelan (as opposed to wayang kulit, shadow puppet theatre) and are supposed to be heard discreetly in the middle of the orchestral sound. In these abstract
pieces, the words are largely secondary to the music itself.
There are two tuning systems in Javanese gamelan music, slendro
(pentatonic) and pelog
(heptatonic in full, but focussing on a pentatonic group). Tuning is not standard, rather each gamelan set will have a distinctive tuning. There are also distinct melodic modes (pathet
) associated with each tuning system. A complete gamelan consists of two of sets of instrument, one in each tuning system. Different gamelan sets have different sonorities, and are used for different pieces of music; many are very old, and used for only one specific piece. Musical forms are defined by the rhythm
ic cycles. These consist of major cycles punctuated by the large gong
, subdivided by smaller divisions marked by the striking of smaller gong
s such as kenong
, kempul
and kethuk
. The melodic interplay takes place within this framework (technically called "colotomic structure").
and Idjah Hadidjah.
History of Java
The History of Java can refer to:* The history of the island of Java* The 1817 book on the history of the island, by Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore.* The version history of the Java programming language.* The history of the Java platform....
. Apart from traditional forms that maintain connections to musical styles many centuries old, there are also many unique styles and conventions which combine elements from many other regional influences, including those of neighbouring Asian cultures and European colonial forms.
Gamelan
The gamelanGamelan
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....
orchestra, based on metallic idiophone
Idiophone
An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main divisions in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification...
s and 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...
s, is perhaps the form which is most readily identified as being distinctly "Javanese" by outsiders. In various forms, it is ubiquitous to Southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In Java, the full gamelan
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....
also adds a bowed string instrument
Bowed string instrument
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.-Violin family:...
(the rebab
Rebab
The rebab , also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, or al-rababa) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East...
, a name illustrative of Islamic influence), plucked siter
Siter
The siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan. They are related to the kacapi used in Sundanese gamelan....
, vertical flute 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...
and voices. The rebab is one of the main melodic instruments of the ensemble, together with the metallophone gendér
Gendér
A gendér is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks or a padded wooden disk . Each key is a note of a different pitch, often...
; these and the kendang
Kendang
Kendhang is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia....
drums are often played by the most experienced musicians. Voices usually consist of a male chorus gerong
Gerong
Gerong is the Javanese verb meaning "to sing in a chorus." Penggerong is the proper name of a member of the chorus, but often the word gerong is used to refer to the unison male chorus that sings with the gamelan. The chorus or the melody may also be called the gerongan.The gerong generally sings...
, together with a female soloist pesindhen
Sindhen
A pesindhèn is a female solo singer who sings with a gamelan. They may perform in unaccompanied music, dance, or wayang performances....
; however, the voices are not usually featured in court gamelan (as opposed to wayang kulit, shadow puppet theatre) and are supposed to be heard discreetly in the middle of the orchestral sound. In these abstract
Abstract music
Abstract music may mean:*Abstract electronic music, a style of electronic music commonly practiced in techno, glitch and ambient that involves significant sampling and sound processing....
pieces, the words are largely secondary to the music itself.
There are two tuning systems in Javanese gamelan music, slendro
Slendro
Slendro is a pentatonic scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music, the other being pélog.-Tuning:...
(pentatonic) and 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...
(heptatonic in full, but focussing on a pentatonic group). Tuning is not standard, rather each gamelan set will have a distinctive tuning. There are also distinct melodic modes (pathet
Pathet
The pathet is an organizing concept in gamelan music. It is difficult to explain, but is similar to the melody types, that is, for example, modes, ragas, or maqamat, of other musics....
) associated with each tuning system. A complete gamelan consists of two of sets of instrument, one in each tuning system. Different gamelan sets have different sonorities, and are used for different pieces of music; many are very old, and used for only one specific piece. Musical forms are defined by the rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic cycles. These consist of major cycles punctuated by the large gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
, subdivided by smaller divisions marked by the striking of smaller gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s such as kenong
Kenong
The kenong is one of the instruments used in the Indonesian gamelan. It is technically a kind of gong, but is placed on its side and is roughly as tall as it is wide. It thus is similar to the bonang, kempyang and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs are generally much larger than any of...
, kempul
Kempul
A kempul is a type of hanging gong used in Indonesian gamelan. It is often placed with the gong suwukan and gong ageng, hanging on a single rack, at the back of the gamelan, and these instruments are often played by the same player with the same mallets...
and kethuk
Kempyang and ketuk
The kempyang and ketuk are two instruments in the gamelan, generally played by the same player, and sometimes played by the same player as the kenong. They are important beat-keepers in the colotomic structure of the gamelan. Depending on the structure, they play different, repeating patterns every...
. The melodic interplay takes place within this framework (technically called "colotomic structure").
Contemporary forms
Popular music forms that infuse Western elements and appeal to younger, mass audiences gained popularity in the 1970s and the 1980s. Examples of proponents of this type of music are Gugum GumbiraGugum Gumbira
Dr. Gugum Gumbira Tirasondjaja, often known just as Gugum Gumbira, is a Sundanese composer, orchestra leader, choreographer, and entrepreneur from Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.-Jaipongan:...
and Idjah Hadidjah.