Gamelan made of bamboo : Blog2

An essential tool in West Java Gamelan and made of

In this case, an important tool will be discussed in the Western Javanese gamelan and made of bamboo. Before modern musical instruments appeared in Indonesia, each region had its own traditional musical instruments. Every traditional musical instrument has its uniqueness, different ways of playing and history so it’s very interesting.

West Java is one of the regions with many regional musical instruments and is still preserved today. When we talk about traditional musical instruments from West Java, of course many of us are thinking about angklung. There is no denying that angklung is the most popular musical instrument.

But did you know that there are still many traditional Western Javanese musical instruments still preserved today? All traditional musical instruments must be of natural materials, such as wood, bamboo, copper and so on. Any use of materials inevitably gives a different effect to the sound that is produced.

That’s why we’ll look further around the gamelan in West Java, both made of bamboo, wood and copper. Before it goes further, it’s a good idea to know in general what a gamelan is and what the story of its development is in West Java.

Dod i adnabod West Java Gamelan

An important tool in West Javanese gamelan and made of what material can be a question for many people. But it’s good to know for the first time what the Western Javan game is called degung. Degung is a traditional musical ensemble composed of several instruments.

Gamelan generally consists of xylophone, kulanter, kendang, rebab, gong, flute degung, xylophone, bonang, panerus, lyre, jengglong, saron. Each of these musical instruments produces different sounds or sounds in order to become a harmonious melody as a feature of traditional music or songs.

Each gamelan has its own features, for example, a more dynamic tempo for Balinese gamelan, a slower tempo for gamelan javanese, and a West Javanese game synonymous with mendayu-dayu sounds of rebab and flute. Both are important tools in West Java Gamelan and are made of natural materials.

According to history, the word Degung comes from the word Ratu-agung or Tumenggung because at the time officials loved gamelan music, for example, Regent Bandung R.A.A. Wiranatakusuma. In addition, there are other theories that address the origin of the term degung, such as something great and honorable.

Gamelan’s story in West Java

The history of developing important tools in western Gamelan Javanese and made of natural materials we will also discuss in this article. It is estimated that in the late 18th or early 19th century, Sundanese Gamelan began to develop with 15 gamelan devices introduced and already spread throughout Java.

Of 15 gamelan devices, West Java has 5 gamelan devices. Unfortunately, there is no definitive information when the gamelan entered West Java, but it is recorded that the gamelan entered Sudanese territory around the 16th century according to the Sang Hyang Siksa Kanda Ng Karesian manuscript.

The changes occurred in the Sundanese gamelan during its development, such as the addition of the song to the game which was banned by Regent Cianjur RT. Wiranatakusumah V because he believed it became less solemn and the essence of silence disappeared. However, it was this change that made West Java gamelan take the features it makes now.

Tanah Sunda has 3 types of gamelan, namely salendro or gamelan pelog, gamelan renteng and typewriter gamelan tilu that have their respective uses. Salandro gamelan is often used in art, gamelan renteng known as basic gamelan and gamelan type tilu which is usually used as accompanying music.

Gamelan made of bamboo

Blog :

An important tool in West Javanese gamelan and made of bamboo is the Calung gamelan tool. Just look at it, we should already know that bamboo is the main material to make this traditional gamelan tool. Bamboos will be arranged to form rows of notes that will be played later.

Celembung gamelan instruments are also made of bamboo skin or better bamboo. To produce sounds, celembung uses resonance in bamboo segments arranged in turns according to the resulting tone. How to play it by hitting celembung using one hand, while the other regulates sound processing.

Multiton angklung instruments are also made of bamboo and can produce dual tonalities so that they can be customized according to your needs again. How to play it is also very easy, that is, shaking it until it makes a sound according to tone. The sound appears due to the effect of internal bamboo and bamboo fragments, causing resonance.

Not only are the three important tools in the western Javanese gamelan and made of bamboo above, there are many other instruments, such as flute, alumba and karinding for men. Bamboo material is indeed one of the natural materials that can emit different types of sounds according to the techniques used.

Gamelan Made of Metal

An important tool in West Javanese gamelan and made of the first metal was Saron. The gamelan tool that enters the Balungan family uses a special wooden stick. The way to play it is to hit the metal wire with his right hand, while his left hand holds the previous knife.

The other tool is a bait that has an almost saron-like appearance. This Balungan family has 2 different species, namely pelog and slendo that make a harmonic sound. Demung has blades that tend to be wider, but thinner than a sarong. The demung grower’s tool is larger in size.

You’ll also find an important tool in west Javanese gamelan and it’s made from metal called bonang. This musical instrument consists of several small cones mounted on a rope in a wooden frame. Each small gong can produce a different tone when hit with a stick.

In addition, there are still some instruments in western gamelan javanese made of metal, such as kenong, gong, xylophone, kemp and so on. Most metal instruments are musical instruments played by being struck using a particular stick.

Gamelan made of wood

An important instrument in West Javanese gamelan and made of the first wood is the Drum. This gamelan manual instrument has a function to set the pace in the gamelan music ensemble. Several species of kendangs are known in gamelan, ranging from small kendang (ketipung) to large kendang.

Another instrument is the rebab, although it was once copper often, but now many rebabs are made of wood with a shape resembling a cross. The way to play it is to swing the strings, as when playing a modern instrument, which is the violin swinging the wires with a special tool.

In addition, there is another gamelan instrument called siter, a musical instrument that is played by collecting. Until now, this gamelan instrument rarely tends to be played although the sound is no less interesting than other stringed instruments. The reason is that this musical instrument has similarities to India’s traditional musical instruments.

Many important instruments are still part of the western Javanese gamelan, but some of the above instruments are the most well-known instruments. For those of you interested in sundanese gamelan, it is important to recognize important instruments in west Javanese gamelan and made from bamboo above.