Gamelan is the music created by the sound of gongs alloys, kenong and other Javanese musical instruments. The rhythm of the music that is soft and reflects the harmony of Javanese life will soon greet and soothe the soul so heard. Gamelan is surely not a foreign music. Its popularity has spread to various continents and has created a new blend of jazz-gamelan music, gave birth to the institution as a learning space and the expression of gamelan music, to produce famous gamelan musicians. Gamelan music instrument can now be enjoyed in many parts of the world, but Yogyakarta is the most appropriate place to enjoy the gamelan is it since you can enjoy the original version.
Developing gamelan in Yogyakarta is Javanese gamelan, a different form of gamelan Balinese gamelan or Sundanese gamelan. Javanese gamelan has a softer tone and slow, in contrast to the dynamic Balinese gamelan and Sundanese gamelan highly dominated lilting voice and flute. The difference is understandable, because Java has its own view of life expressed in the rhythm of gamelan music.
Javanese philosophy of life expressed in gamelan music is the harmony of physical and spiritual life, speak and act in harmony in order not to create an explosive expression and to manifest tolerance. Real form of music is the pull string fiddle that is, a balanced blend of sound kenong, saron drum and xylophone and gong sounds on every cover of a rhythm.
There is no definite history of gamelan. The development of gamelan music is expected since the emergence of rafters, fiddle, pat into the mouth, the friction on a thin rope or bamboo to familiar musical instruments from metal. Subsequent developments after named gamelan music was used to accompany the leather puppet show and dances. Later it became independent as the music itself and are equipped with voice sinden.
A set of gamelan consist of several instruments, including a set of similar musical instrument drum called drums, fiddle and zither, xylophone, gongs and bamboo flutes. The main components that make up the gamelan music instruments are bamboo, metal, and wood. Each instrument has its own function in gamelan music show, for example gong music played to close a long and gave the balance after the previous musical rhythm was decorated by gending.
Javanese gamelan is music with pentatonic melodies. A complete gamelan game consists of two rounds, namely slendro and pelog. Slendro has five tones per octave, ie 1 2 3 5 6 [C-D E + GA] with small differences in the interval. Pelog has seven tones per octave, ie 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [C + D E-F # G # AB] with a large difference interval. Gamelan music compositions created by some rules, which consist of several rounds and pathet, limited by a gong and the melodies were created in a unit consisting of four tones.
You can see gamelan as an independent music performance or a dance or performing arts such as wayang kulit and ketoprak. As a performance, gamelan music is usually combined with the sound of the Javanese singers (male singers and female singers called wiraswara called waranggana or sinden). Gamelan music concert performance can be classical or contemporary gamelan. One form of contemporary gamelan music is jazz-gamelan music as a combination of pentatonic and diatonic melodies.
One of the places in Yogyakarta where you can see is the Kraton Yogyakarta gamelan performances. On Thursday at 10:00 to 12:00 p.m. gamelan as a music performance. Day Saturday at the same time as the accompaniment of gamelan music performed shadow puppet show, while on Sunday at the same time as the accompaniment of gamelan music performed traditional Javanese dance. To see the show, you can go to the Hall of Sri Maganti. Meanwhile, in order to see the old gamelan, you can go to another of the kingdom which lies further to the rear.
