Javanese Music, Its History and Aspects

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Table of Contents

Introduction
History
Genres and Music
Instrumentation
Interrelationships Between Culture/Religion and Music
Conclusion
Reference list

Introduction

Javanese music is among the most classifiable and special music forms in the Asian culture. The music is used significantly in politics, religions, and societal entertainment purposes. The music entails two-tone systems, viz. the pelog and slendro. The pelog is made of seven different musical tones whereby traces of western music are involved. On the other side, slender is made of five-octave tones, which are internally related. The Javanese music is referred to as the old music system, but recent music researchers have established substantial evidence that calendar originated from pelog. The distinct cultural difference between the two music systems is that the calendar is associated with masculine aspects, while pelog is regarded as a feminine form of music. Moreover, the Javanese gamelan is an orchestral tune of bronze instruments played by the Hindus.

The Balinese gamelan is different from the Javanese gamelan as it is played at a faster tempo with a sharper tone (Brinner 1995). This paper will highlight the history, instrumentation, music genres, and the relationship between the region/culture and Javanese music.

History

The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta, where music is heard from different nightclubs, discos, and karaoke bar singing with the traditional ensemble Gamelan music. Indonesia has several different languages with disparate cultures with diverse music styles (Briggs 1986). Gamelan music is dominated by the Buddhist culture in Indonesia. According to Briggs (1986, p. 81), the gamelan ‘was introduced by King Sang Hyang Guru during the Saka era in Manga’. The king had to signal his gods, whereby he formed the other two songs, viz. Sandro and pelog gamelan sets to make message delivery easy. The music instruments evolved to sophisticated forms at different times throughout history.

Brinner (1995, p.111) posits that in the 12th Century, ‘the palaces of Java were composed of the Munggang and kodokngorek gamelans, which made the loud style.’ Thereafter, Brinner (1995, p.111) adds that a ‘soft style musical tone from the kemanak traditions, which was used for singing the Javanese poetry, was introduced.’ The Hindu culture of dance and performing arts, drama, and puppet theatre influenced the development of music that later was shaped by the technological revolution in Java (Farish 2004).

Genres and Music

The music of Java uses several different musical styles, both traditional and contemporary, which cater to the different Java communities. The Javanese gamelan has different unique musical styles that combine diverse features of the Asian cultures and the European colonialists (Briggs 1986). Specifically, the gamelan music style uses metallic idiophones and drums, which are the unique features of Javanese music. Moreover, the Javanese music includes the rehab instrument, which is an Islamic derived name, viz. flute suling and voices, and the plucked sitar. The rehab instruments are widely used by the most experienced musicians combined with the metallophone and kendang drums (Gordon 2007). The voices are usually arranged to be heard in the middle of the orchestral music variations.

Two tuning systems are used in the Javanese music, viz. the Sandro and pelog. The tuning of the Javanese music varies accordingly with the voice tones, but there are basic distinct set tunings involved to make the music unique. Therefore, a complete gamelan entails two tuning set systems (Peterman 2003). Moreover, the different tuning systems have varying sonorities, which are applied to different music genres. The old orchestral tuning systems are used for the specific old musical rhythms. The music styles are usually composed of major rhythmic cycles differentiated by smaller chimes. These aspects form the colotomy structure within which all melodic variations and interplays occur.

In addition, the Javanese gamelan music system is composed of classical, dance-pop, Batak, pop, pop Minag, modern rock, and Sunda, among other music genres. Moreover, there are regional music forms that include Bali, Papua, and Sulawesi music genres (Brinner 1995). In addition, gamelan, angklung, gender wayang, and gong gede, among others, form the special form music genres. Currently, popular music genres have been influenced by western culture, which aims to please the younger generation. The main contemporary modern music forms of the Javanese music with the western influence are the Gugum Gumbira and the Idjah Hadidjah (Sting 1993).

Instrumentation

Indonesian music uses percussion instruments like drums (Yengang) and gongs. Some of the instruments are used to produce distinct specific musical voices and styles, such as the sasando string instrument, angklung, and the complex gamelan orchestral style of Bali and Java (Meintjes 2003). The common form of music in Indonesia is the gamelan, which is specifically tuned and ensemble set of instruments simultaneously coordinated to produce the desired music style and genre. The instruments used in the gamelan style include drums, gongs, spike fiddles, and metallophones. In Java, the central people play the metallophones accompanied by the orchestral styles then the melody slowly joins the tone, with gongs bringing a slow, soothing musical style. The two tuning systems in the gamelan styles help to vary the notes systematically, resulting in tone variations.

The metallophones use octaves, which are composed of balungan, saron, panerus, and the demung, to coordinate the varied tones. Peterman( 2014, p.95) notes that the ‘large gongs, ketuk, kempul, and kenong are used to balance the pace of the music.’ In addition, rehab, bonang.siter, and suling are used by the gamelan musical style. The Osing Javanese people from central Indonesia are famous for using gamelan music for social functions like weddings and other cultural activities using angklung and gangdrung strictly played by musically young expert boys.

Furthermore, some instruments such as gender and bonang entail two sets of instruments whereby one is tuned in pelog and the other in Sandro. These sets of instruments are strategized in a way that allows musicians to move from one position to another (Brinner 1995). The slendro sets are tuned to distinct the octaves into five equal sounds similar to that of western music. The spacing intervals of the sets are placed in the pentagon cycle with intervals of descending order. The main instruments used are gambang, gender, gongs, saron, kempul, ceng ceng, and kendhang, which are combined and coordinated to bring out the desired planned musical rhythm.

Interrelationships Between Culture/Religion and Music

Indonesian gamelan music has several reflections on religions and spiritual importance. The religious and spiritual relationship of music in Indonesia is portrayed in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity (Peterman 2014). Gamelan music is associated with animist beliefs and specific ritual practices. The animist’s religious practices are not legal according to the government policies on religions. In fact, the religions of Buddhism and Hinduism revolve around the orchestral gamelan music whereby the old spiritual and mystical forms of songs are used. Moreover, specific traditional Indonesian dances are used as intermediaries between ancestors and living through a datu (Gordon 2007).

For instance, some incantations are performed while singing the gamelan style of songs in important traditional ceremonies of individual purification and blessings. The practices are meant to connect the living to the ancestors and to remain united spiritually.

Furthermore, the music in Indonesia is filled with cultures and traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism. In addition, apart from entertaining people, the orchestral style of music is linked to social community occasions that act as a transitional point of an individual’s life. For instance, Garnett (2009, p. 146) notes that gamelan music ‘is used to celebrate an important special occasion like the birth of a child, a house warming, child circumcision, wedding parties, and death funerals among others.’ Moreover, gamelan music is used in performing arts to spice up dancing by the beautiful women wearing expensive ornaments. In addition, orchestral music is used in puppet theatres by the Indonesians through varying musical styles (Briggs 1986). In Indonesia, the appealing gamelan orchestral music is the famous form of the country’s tradition and culture.

Gamelan Indonesian music varies between different religions. For example, there exists musical and traditional competition between the islands of Bali and Java. These were the first places of origin of the gamelan music, which later was split into two different musical styles (Brinner 1995). It is quite difficult for outsiders to differentiate between the two gamelan musical styles and instrumentals between the two cultures since they are almost similar. However, the Indonesians know the difference between the two cultures, which is distinct in instrumental tunings, the instruments, and the playing styles and techniques used. Even though the gamelan music styles have some similarities, the social-cultural disparity has resulted from the style and instruments of music played.

Nevertheless, the difference in the two musical cultures brings disparities and friction between the communities. The Batak people view the musical styles used by the Javanese as displeasing. Moreover, the clacking of bamboos used by the Batak music is not considered pleasant at all by the Javanese (Meintjes 2003). Nevertheless, the gamelan musical styles use their songs for their worship, special occasions, and many other important community rituals in the culture of Hinduism and Buddhism. In Indonesia, it is illegal to step over instruments or play them whilst wearing shoes. These practices are taboos of the Indonesian religions to protect and safeguard the instruments. Gamelan music is used to promote a large social event and make it more lively and attractive. Therefore, the uses of music in the Indonesian culture are broad and unique as opposed to many other cultures (Farish 2014).

Conclusion

Music is a special element in contemporary life. Furthermore, music is a mode of communication, worship, entertainment, and it fosters knowledge in society. Music is the strongest tool for ‘sweet’ communication. Evidently, music affects culture and religion in many aspects. The relationship between music and religion or culture is broad and educational. Music is used in every region and culture in the modern world. This aspect has greatly contributed to the growth of the music industry in terms of instruments and genres.

Reference list

Briggs, C 1986, Learning to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role of the Interview in Social Science Research (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Web.

Brinner, B 1995, Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and International, Chicago University Press, Chicago. Web.

Farish, I 2014, ‘Song structure’, The Canadian Music Educator, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 53–55. Web.

Garnett, L 2009, Choral conducting and the construction of meaning: gesture, voice, identity, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Burlington. Web.

Gordon, E 2007, Learning sequences in music: a contemporary music learning theory, GIA Publications, Chicago. Web.

Meintjes, L 2003, Sound of Africa: Making Music Zulu in a South Africa Studio, Duke University Press Books, Durham. Web.

Peterman, L 2014, The musical novel: imitation of musical structure, performance, and reception in contemporary fiction, Boydell & Brewer, Rochester. Web.

Sting 1993, Fields of gold, song, A&M, Santa Monica. Web.

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