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CHAPTER 12 Indonesia

called a metallophone), barrel drums, hanging gongs, and other instruments such as a bamboo flute, single kettle gongs, a zither, or a type of vertically held bowed lute, depending on the ensemble. There are many kinds of gamelan in Indonesia. Their diversity in construction, use, context, and repertoire is part of what makes studying and listening to them so interesting. Central Javanese Gamelan The three big sections of Java—an island about the size of California—are West Java, Central Java, and East Java. Each one has many different types of gamelan. Central Java, however, is the site of Java’s two main traditional court cities (Surakarta and Yogyakarta), where the members of royal families live and work, and where large ensembles of gamelan (Figure 12.5) rehearse and perform in beautiful open-air pavilions. The two court musical systems of Surakarta and Yogyakarta have been in competition with one another for a long time; each one has its enthusiasts. Indonesian music is not related to Western music systems of major and minor harmonies. While there are variations all over the island, most Javanese gamelan fall into two different tunings: sléndro and pélog . Sléndro sounds like five tones of nearly

sléndro —one of two main modes in Indonesian music pélog —one of two main modes in Indonesian music

FIGURE 12.5 Large Central Javanese gamelan at the Pura Paku Alaman, Yogyakarta. PROPERTY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS