Alam Bahasa Indonesia

Sitting on terrace while enjoying a glass of warm coffee and fried banana and tofu, vaguely I heard Javanese gamelan sound from my neighbor’s house. The atmosphere was so intimate and beautiful. It reminded me about several years ago when I was still in university. We had to study how to play Gamelan. The beautiful and impressive moments at that time are still fresh in my memory.

There are many kind of folk music in Indonesia; one of the most popular is gamelan. Gamelan is used to escort Wayang (traditional drama performance of Java and Bali) show or dancing. The word “gamelan” is derived from the Javanese word “gamel” which means music instrument or percussion and “gangsa” is the mixed metal of copper and tin. In Java especially, this folk music is called “Karawitan” which means softness formed in the Gamelan art. There are some arts which have close relationship to karawitan, they are:

1. Voice art. There are some voice art in gamelan such as, sinden, bawa, gerong, sendon, and celuk.
2. Pedalangan (traditional shadow plays) art. There are many kinds of wayang, such as leather puppet (wayang purwo), wayang klithik, wayang gedhok, wooden puppet (wayang golek) show, wayang beber, wayang suluh (epic wayang), and wayang divine revelation (about New Testament or Old Testament).
3. Dancing arts. There are many meaningful dances, they are Srimpi, Bedayan, Golek, Wireng (they are from Yogyakarta), Pethilan (from Solo; It means only some parts).
   A set of Gamelan consists of many kinds of music instruments. A small set of gamelan usually consists of thirteen music instruments, whereas the big one consists of fourteen to twenty one music instruments. The titles of gamelan instruments are as listed below.

Basic Gamelan

1. Rebab (the shape is like a violin with two strings)
2. Gender barung (big)
3. Gender penerus (small)
4. Gambang (traditional instrument similar to xylophone made of wood)
5. Flute
6. Zither
7. Clempung (plicked stringed instrument. In west Java is called kecapi)
8. Kendang (It consist of big kendang, ciblon, and ketipung)
9. Bonang barung (big)
10. Bonang penerus (small)
11. Slenthem (small)
12. Demung (like a big slenthem)
13. Saron barung (the two big metallophone instruments of gamelan.)
14. Saron penerus/peking (small one)
15. Kenong (small gong of the gamelan.)
16. Kethuk (like kenong but smaller)
17. Japan (like kenong but bigger)
18. Kempyang (like kethuk and it has two instruments)
19. Kempul (gamelan instrument containing several small horizontal gongs)
20. Big Gong
21. Gong Suwukan

Non-Basic Gamelan

1. Kemanak, the form is like a banana/kenthongan.
2. Cymbal
3. Terbang, only in Gamelan Larasmaya
4. Bedug.

Kinds of gamelan

1. Gamelan Klenengan (in Klaten and Solo), Uyon-uyon (in Yogyakarta) consist of Instruments, waranggana or singers, gerong but there is no dancing.
2. Gamelan for Gending Bonang (Solo) or Gending Soran (Yogyakarta). For this kind of Gamelan several music instruments like rebab are not played.
3. Gamelan sekaten (a festival held in Solo and Yogyakarta in honor of Muhammad’s birthday), this kind of Gamelan is bigger than Gending Soran and played in the end of Sekaten festival.
4. War Gamelan. It is used by Palace soldiers. The instruments are kendang, gong, gubar, gurnan/gurni, bahri/beri, mosque drum, flute, puksur, tong-tong, maguru gangsa.

Gamelan as inheritance of our ancestors is definitely beautiful and it is not less good than other music sets. How pity if we forget or leave it behind. I hope we have consciousness to know and learn how to play gamelan. What do you think? Are you interested in Gamelan? The answer is in our mind. Mangga (Javanese word) which means please try it.

Bonang	Rebab	Kethuk
Gambang	Kendang	Gong
	Saron