More than 17,000 islands make up the Indonesian archipelago, and the nation has a cultural diversity that reflects this enormous size. Although the gamelan is the most recognized musical style in Indonesia, there are literally hundreds of distinct musical traditions, some kept alive by only a handful of people. In addition to traditional musical modes, Indonesia also has a vibrant popular music scene, integrating aspects of traditional arrangements with styles borrowed from the West and Asia.
The gamelan is a large collection of percussion instruments played as an ensemble. Gamelan originated nearly 2,000 years ago, and is attributed to the god-king Sang Hyang Guru in Java in the 3rd century. Later forms of music tended more toward the poetic, such as the spoken-word tembang sunda, which originated during the Dutch period in the mid-19th century. The musical accompaniment to tembang sunda, a Sudanese musical style known as kacapi suling, has also been performed on its own since the 19th century.
Integration with Theater
Gamelan is most commonly seen integrated with ornate puppet theater. A great deal of interplay takes place between the musicians and the performers, and most puppeteers are able to perform in the gamelan ensemble as needed, while musicians need a familiarity with the stories being told so that they can accompany them accurately. A form of music known as gambang kromong is also widely seen in theater, consisting of zithers, flutes, and xylophones used to create an underlying soundtrack for performances.
Gamelan is also widely used in ritual performances, accompanying visits from heads of state, weddings, and religious ceremonies throughout Indonesia. The gamelan is non-denominational, and music may be played at indigenous ceremonies, Hindi festivals, or Catholic services. In indigenous folklore, various pieces of a gamelan set are believed to hold mystical powers, and certain gongs may be rung to ward off malevolent spirits. Cultural subsets often retain their own forms of music, in addition to gamelan, such as the Sudanese jaipongan, which is an improvisational, highly-nuanced style of rhythmic dance music.
Indonesian music makes use of a wide range of instruments, drawn from Indian, Chinese, Khmer, and Arabic sources. The metallophone drums and gongs used in gamelan and other styles are the most iconic, but a range of other percussive instruments are used as well, including xylophones and skin drums. Other common instruments include the suling (bamboo flute), rebab (spike fiddle), sitar, and kacapi (zither). Between islands styles vary slightly, and instruments are often referred to by their island or cultural name as well – such as a Javanese suling or Balinese rebab.
Indigenous forms of Indonesian music have experienced a renaissance since the 1990s with the widespread availability of recordings and distribution channels. Many pop styles have also sprung up, integrating traditional modes with modes from the West, the Middle East, and mainland Asia. Indonesian hip-hop, for example, makes use of American rap and hip-hop methods, combining them with gamelan samples and the distinctive high-octave singing of Java. Indonesian pop music – known collectively as pop daerah – is exported outside of the country, especially to South-East Asian countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia.
- gamelan image by Bruno Bernier from Fotolia.com