frozenman on 2/4/2010 at 04:11

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I've been playing in a Javanese Gamelan for approaching a year now, and I thought I start a thread because I've become so enthused by it I just want to share it with you guys.

For those of you who have no idea what a gamelan is here are some links
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan) Wikipedia article
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQktcAjoC5A) Short clip of my gamelan playing doesn't it look like a cult
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAumC4JP3o) YouTube video of longer piece
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldPMifPbngc) Balinese gamelan, a completely different style and by far more accessible to western ears- this video is awesome

Has anyone ever listened to gamelan? Played in one yourself? Think this music sounds like shit?

A few of my thoughts on why gamelan is awesome, why everyone should give it a try or at least go check one out if possible:

-(Javanese) Gamelan music has an interesting way of dealing with a player's skill- someone who has never played any instrument before can play right alongside master musicians who have been playing for years. Today cipher notation is used for gamelan music, with numbers representing pitches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or 1 2 3 5 6 depending on the scale, so playing the basic instrument, which resembles a large xylophone in a gamelan is a matter of ... REST ... 2 ... REST ... 1 ... REST ... 3 ... REST ... 2. The hardest part about learning to play gamelan is where to put your head and how to not get lost.

-There are several fractal, or at least algorithmic elements in the structure of gamelan melodies and "harmonies" so if you are a computer nerd this might be interesting. One class of instruments may play 3 5 6 7 and another class will play 353 353 676 676 in the spaces in between. Then, there are ways of changing the tempo or beat density that is utterly amazing. The 3 5 6 7 class of instruments will slow down to play at half their previous speed, but then other instruments will double the number of notes they play.

-GONGS- This is where the gong CAME from. These aren't those shitty noisy chinese gongs, whose spectrum is inharmonic and are just good for making a lot of sound. These are serious 3-4 ft diameter shimmering beauties that strike somewhere very deep in your soul. You strike a gong with a large padded mallet, although you can also use the meaty fat outer part of your hand when you make a fist- there is a ever so slight delay between the impact and the attack of the sound, which reminds of watching fireworks exploded, you see the light and then a millisecond later the sound reaches you, but there's something very cerebral in that time lag.

and finally

-Every gamelan is unique and contains two sets of identical instruments for different scales. It would sound awful to take a gong or a gender or any instrument from one gamelan and use it in another- these are bronze slabs of metal painstakingly crafted by crazy indonesian people- doing so would require significant metal work to reshape the borrowed instrument's keys. And the metal sets and expands slowly over time, so the older the gamelan, if it's well made, the better it sounds.

Here's a picture of the gong i just played
http://gamelanbvg.com/bvg/bvg_gong.jpg

Thanks for listening

Kolya on 2/4/2010 at 09:18

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Sounds like a lot of fun to participate in though the music isn't something I'd consciously listen to. However it works very well for setting a mood in the film clip Muzman linked.

Sulphur on 2/4/2010 at 16:06

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That's what she sa...

Um. :o

frozenman on 3/4/2010 at 14:37

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That's funny that you say that, because 'tuned pots' or 'kettle gongs' is often used to describe the shape of the bonang and konang, but I personally don't see how they in anyways resemble a POT. I think there's a closer link between these gongs and these shaped instruments and breasts- the gongs are like the faces of enormous breasts and you strike them on the nipple!



But by doing the first you first you are automatically doing the second?? But I know what you mean, when I first began playing I had actually never heard javanese gamelan, only balinese gamelan, and still I don't frequently listen to recordings for fun. Recordings of gamelan don't begin to do it justice and are particularly sketchy. For one the male and female choral singing (gerongan and pesindhen) are generally way too close to the microphone, and the women singing is basically an ear-piercing shriek when recorded this way. Secondly the music and arrangement of instruments is incredibly spatial in character that no matter how well recorded it sounds flatter.

Now, on one hand I slightly and instinctually resent the urge to sample gamelan instruments, and when the phrase 'gamelan-style' is used in music reviews to describe some western music, but on the other hand I know I am just as guilty so I won't rant too viciously. Gamelan music is enormously complex, has a long history, and I can't help but feel it's a slight disservice to say 'Hm that's a cool sound lemme use it in a western context I don't like it in it's original state.' This is just my opinion though, sample away! (thanks scumble I've already downloaded them)

ZylonBane on 4/4/2010 at 01:58

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Good lord, this stuff sounds like the (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b9BuP8rkTE) Akira soundtrack.