World Culture Music Research Paper. Indonesian Music - Essay Example

Indonesian Music Introduction It is believed that one cannot research, record and listen to all types of Indonesian musical genres. The music of Indonesia represents the rich cultures that exist in Indonesia. The music also demonstrates the effects of the various cultural; influences that have contributed to the evolution and changes that have occurred in Indonesian music. Indonesia is well known for its diverse highlands that possess a wide range of cultures and characters. This eventually explains the availability of different forms of music. The music is significant to audiences in theatre as well as dance. The music of Indonesia is accompanied with various cultural beliefs and practices. Some communities chant as they go on with their rituals. Indonesian music is now well known across the continent and beyond. The richness of the music of Indonesia translates to the various musical instruments that exist within the people of Indonesia. Just as there are various musicians and scholars in Indonesia, the scope of the use of musical instruments is wide and can be discussed under various guiding principles that express the cultures that exist in Indonesia. Indonesians have always used music in nearly all their activities for reasons that can be best described as functional. The music of Indonesia has a wide historical background, just as the cultures that exist (Hoffman 75). The music has played various roles and has influenced a number of activities and lifestyles of the Indonesian societies. History of Indonesian Music The historical background of Indonesian music cannot be dated to any period. However, the music is as old as the various cultures that exist within the Indonesian areas. Creativity within the local people has been one of the contributing factors that have contributed to the growth and development of Indonesian music. Foreign influences have gone further to introduce different cultural and artistic values that have directly influenced the music (Goldsworthy 309). This has led to hundreds of musical forms that are now dominant in Indonesia as well as the surroundings. In this influential endeavor, the music of Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Flores has been documented and recorded through research by various Indonesian and other international scholars. From various studies, native Indonesian tribes used chants and songs that were accompanied by various musical instruments in various festivities as well as rituals. The Indonesian republic represents a modern developing nation that a wide kaleidoscope of people, languages as well as cultures. More than one hundred different ethnic groups that speak moire than three hundred languages have maintained the various traditions that reflect the cultures of Indonesia. Due to the existence of the four great religions (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity), music has also been influenced by religious practices that are carried out in Indonesia at large. Throughout history, music, dance and theatrical genres have been used for various functions: to provide entertainment to the ancestors, lend spiritual solemnity to the various religious occasions and provide pleasant entertainment to the worshipers (Anderson 77). In the past, Indonesians considered music as part of their everyday life. In rituals, ceremonies, as well as war, music was a mode of self-expression that accompanied various dances. Indonesian archipelago is the largest island in the world. It represents various cultures that are representatives of the music that Indonesia now posses (Sandhyarani).the exiling of Hindus to Bali because of the introduction of Islam in Indonesia is said to have contributed to the development of music of the island of Bali. Types of music Due to the scope of the Indonesian islands as well as the diversity of the cultures that are present in Indonesia, there are various types of music in Indonesia that represent that various tribes and language groups. The various types of music include Folk music, Tembang sunda, among others. The existence of varied genres of music originates from the creativity that exist witihin the various people who are born or are raised in Indonesia. The creativity has given rise to hip hop, rock as well as galemal blues. However, the most common types of Indonesian music include Gamelan and Tembang sunda (Sandhyarani). Gamelan (Javanese word meaning orchestra) is the most famous for of indnesian music and is widely known by varuious scholars and ethnomyusicoplogists. This si because of the existenc of various versions of gamelan. Gamelan music came into the rise through the fusion of twio main religions of the world. These are Hinduism and Buddhism. The complexity of the music is based on the number of musical instruments that are involved. Tembag Sunda is another type of popular indonesian music. It si basically poetry that is sung. It is accompanied by various musical instrumentys that are unique to the indonesian people. It originated during the colonial period. Javanese and Balinese Music Java and Bali are provinces in Indonesia. In various ethno-musicological studies, the Javanese and Balinese have presented rich cultural dimensions as well s different forms of music that have evolved through creativity as well as influence from other external factors. The Bali has unique musical characteristics that include their singing that imitates the sound of monkeys (Mcphee 264). Despite the various characteristics, Bali is a home of various kinds of gamelan. Balinese music can be compared directly to that if the Javanese. Balinese music is more aggressive as compared to the Javanese. It features more archaic music instruments as compared to the modernized Javanese gamelans. The Balinese orchestra is said to be bigger and the instruments are very big and many (Lindsay 41). Balinese gamelan has been concluded to be diverse and is open to invention due to the creativity that has been witnessed. Genres that are more contemporary have been said to originate form Balinese gamelan. Influences from the western world have led to the fusion of Balinese music to produce many different types of musical compositions. Javanese gamelan is usually very traditional and its main setting of performance is within palaces and temples. This explains the gentleness and low pitch that are associated with Javanese music (Anderson 67). Javanese and Balinese forms of gamelan have similar origins. The difference has been noted as the two types of gamelan evolved. The evolution of Balinese is ongoing and the rapidness has made it more popular then the Javanese style. The two forms of Indonesian music have evolved and crept into various countries from purposes of entertainment and studies. The two forms have fused with other contemporary forms of music from various countries in order to give birth to greater forms of music. However, the two continue to spread and will eventually reach every arena in the global performance stages (Hoffman 76). Musical Instruments Balinese and Javanese gamelan have been described as the main sources of the cultural and musical diversity of Indonesia. It is important to distinguish the various musical instruments that are used, as well as their functions in the performances. These instruments are different in size as well as the material of construction. The distribution of the instruments depends on the culture and the availability of the materials that are necessary in the construction of the instruments. In the Javanese gamelan, musical instruments can be divided into various categories. These include time-marking instruments such as gongs that come in different sizes, melodic instruments such as the suling and the rebab that play the balungan or fixed melody, elaborating instruments such as metallophones instruments. These metallophones instruments create the sound of exact gamelan music. The suling and the rebab are also classified under this category of instruments (Anderson 70). The Balinese gamelan also uses the same instruments as the Javanese with slight differences in the way of tuning as the modes. However, the four main types of musical instruments in Indonesia are gongs, metallophones, strings, and wood. Purpose of Music Music in Indonesia serves various purposes. For example, the music of Bali serves various religious beliefs through the accompanying of various dances. The Balinese music has also contributed to the lives of various twentieth century musicians such as Bella Bartok. This can be seen from his compositing titled “From the island of Bali.” Debussy is another musician who developed through the encounter with a Balinese musician and orchestra in Europe. His later works contained various characteristics of Balinese music. Gamelan’s role in rituals is very important because many believe that a gong has to be hung for a ritual to be complete. Therefore, gamelan is noteworthy because it represents the various beliefs that exist within all islands of Indonesia as well as all the tribes and communities. Influence of the Music As mentioned earlier, Balinese music has influenced various classical musicians such as Bella Bartok and Claude Debussy. The influence is through their encounter with various Balinese musicians and through listening to the Balinese orchestras in Europe. Traditional forms of Indonesian music have spread all over the world and have fused with other types of music to give rise to various contemporary styles (Lindsay 45). Balinese and Javanese gamelan groups have been seen to use their earlier forms of music and have come up with other complex forms of music. The music has contributed to the richness of the Indonesian cultural diversity in which many scholars have been benefited (Becker 11). Conclusion The music of Indonesia has been regarded as one of the diverse forms of music throughout the world. This is because of the existence of numerous tribes and language groups. However, the islands of Indonesia are many and have been associated with the diversity of the Indonesian cultures. Music has been used in nearly all festivities and rituals and thus it has been an essential element of their lives. The Javanese and Balinese gamelan have been the ultimate representatives of the cultures and music of Indonesia. With the use of different musical instruments, they have been able to influence and contribute to the cultural existence of Indonesia. Various musicians have benefited from this diversity and have attributed their success to the music of the Balinese and Javanese. Works Cited Anderson, Benedict. Mythology and Tolerance of the Javanese. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Modern Indonesia Project, 1965. Becker, Judith. Traditional Music in Modern Java. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1975. Goldsworthy, David. "Cyclic Properties of Indonesian Music." Journal of Musicological Research, 24 (2005): 309–333. Goldsworthy, David J. "Teaching Gamelan in Australia: Some Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Music Education." International Journal of Music Education 30 (1997): 3–14. Hoffman, Stanley. "Epistemology and Music: A Javanese Example." Ethnomusicology (1978): 69-88. Lindsay, J. Javanese Gamelan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Mcphee, Colin. "The Five Toned Gamelan Music of Bal." Musical Quarterly, 35 (1949): 250-281. Sandhyarani, Ningthoujam. Traditional Indonesian Music. 11 Seotember 2012. 4 December 2012 . 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