About Our Gamelan

Gamelan is a musical ensemble that is originally Indonesian, tipicaly from Java and Bali. In a set of gamelan, contains up to ten or even more instruments, which are sets of metallophones, xylophones, drums or kendang, gongs and kempul (which is the smaller types of gong that can be played in different notes). But in some editions of gamelan, bamboo floots or suling, strings, and even vocalists can be included.

At school, I joined the Gamelan extracurricular. I learn so much about it, to play a couple of songs, even the theories about the instruments itself.
When playing gamelan, we always have two "same" instruments, which one placed horizontally, and the other one vertically beside us. Actually, that "same" instruments are not really the same. Although the types are similar, they have different notes and sounds, even different functions.

The first one is called "Pelog". Laras Pelog or Pelog "scales", have the notes 4 and 7, while the other Laras, Slendro, doesn't. The other differences are about the songs we can play. Because the notes are different of course, the songs that we play in pelog scales, cannot be played in slendro.

While instruments in slendro scales used to be played in Wayang performances, laras pelog usually doesn't. The information about these scales, I don't have much.

The history of gamelan itself, it came or developed in the time of the Majapahit Empire. In spite of the heavy influence of Indian culture in other art forms, gamelan is different because of it's Javanese style of singing.

In Javanese mythology, gamelan was created by Sang Hyang Guru in Saka era 167, the God who ruled all of Java as a king from the palaces on the Maendra mountains in Medangkamulan (now mount Lawu). He needed a signal to summon the gods, so he invented the gong. for more complex message, he made two other gongs, thus forming the original set.

Now, about the songs we played in the extracurricular. As a beginner, the songs we play are only simple Javanese, Sundanese, or even from Betawi, that is already familiar in public. The songs that we already play are; Kicir-kicir, Sirih Kuning, Jali-jali, Lenggang Kangkung, Suwe Ora Jamu, Srepeg Kemudo Rangsang, Manuk Dadali, Sworo Suling, Praon, and many more.

That's all I've got about gamelan.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gamelan andddd....

myself!