The Music of Indonesia

• Click here for Videos and sound files of music of Indonesia

The Gamelans of the Kraton Yogyakarta

• Set of instruments unified by their tuning and decorative carving and painting

• Metal slab instruments and tuned knobbed gongs

• Sound-producing vibrations are concentrated in the center of the instrument

• Javanese - related to largeness, greatness, and grandeur

  • Agung - great, kingly

  • Ageng - large

  • Gunung - mountain

• Gamelan normally has at least one drum and may have other wind, string, and wooden percussion instruments.

• Instruments tuned to one of two scale systems

Gamelan Websites

• Gamelan Ensemble - Streamed Audio Recordings at Cornell - http://www.arts.cornell.edu/gamelan/aski.htm

• Gamelan Tunas Mekar - http://www.tunasmekar.org/orchestra.html

• Introduction to Gamelan Music - http://members.efn.org/~qehn/tutor/

• American Gamelan Institute - http://www.gamelan.org/

• Gamelan Notation - http://danny.oz.au/gamelan/notation/index.html

• Introduction to Javanese Gamelan - http://sumarsam.web.wesleyan.edu/Intro.gamelan.pdf

Indonesian Music Websites

• Smithsonian - Music of Indonesia - audio files - http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info.php?id=SFWCD40421

• Folk Songs from Northern Salawesi - http://www.north-sulawesi.org/culture.html (real audio files)

• Murni's Articles on Balinese Culture - http://www.murnis.com/culture/index.htm

• Murni's Music - http://www.murnis.com/onlineshop/gamelan/index.htm#suling

• The Music of Bali - http://www.indo.com/culture/music.html

• Kekak Dance - http://www.tompgalvin.com/features/kecak.htm

• Welcome to Bali and Beyond - http://www.balibeyond.com/index.html

Instrument Links

• Indonesian Gamelan - http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Main_Page/main_page.htm

• Visit the Virtual Museum of Instruments! - includes some audio and visual clips - http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/type.cgi

• Musical Instruments of Malaysia - http://www.musicmall-asia.com/malaysia/instruments/index.html

Kempul

• Kempul - http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Javanese_Gamelan/gongs/kempul.htm

• Virtual Instrument Museum - http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/instrument.cgi?id=36 (see video)

Bonang

• Javanese Gongs - http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Javanese_Gamelan/gongs/bonang.htm

• Bonang - http://www.engineering.usu.edu/ece/faculty/wheeler/NIU/Bonang.htm

Kenong

• http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Javanese_Gamelan/gongs/kenong.htm

• http://www.musicmall-asia.com/malaysia/instruments/kenong.html

Kendhang

• Virtual Museum - http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/instrument.cgi?id=32

• German Site - http://www.gamelanhuis.nl/Javaans5/body_javaans5.html

Gender - http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/instrument.cgi?id=12

Gambang - http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/instrument.cgi?id=42

Rebab

• http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesian/Budaya_Bangsa/Gamelan/Javanese_Gamelan/counter-melody/rebab.htm

• http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/instrument.cgi?id=31

Indonesian Gongs

• http://www2.seasite.niu.edu/worldmusic/Gongs.htm

• http://www.carousel-music.com/gongs.html

Puppetry

• Puppetry from Around the World - http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/traditions/index.html

• Balinese Shadow Play - Welcome to Bali and Beyond - http://www.balibeyond.com/

• Wayang Kulite - http://discover-indo.tierranet.com/wayang.html

• Indonesian Puppets Wayang Golek - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wph0cBNi7Yo

• The Wayang Golek Theater of Java - http://www.marlamallett.com/puppets.htm

• The Wayang Golek Theater - http://www.artbabble.org/video/asian-art/indonesian-rod-puppets-wayang-golek

• Planet Diversity - http://www.planet-diversity.org/storiesandvideos/wayang-traditional-indonesian-puppets.html