2. Southeast Asia or
Southeastern Asia is a sub-
region of Asia, consisting of
the regions that are
geographically south of
China, east of the Indian
subcontinent and north-
west of Australia.
3. Eleven(11) Countries of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is composed of eleven
countries of impressive diversity in
religion, culture and history:
Brunei, Burma (Myanmar),
Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
5. Music of Indonesia
When we speak about Indonesia, one might think of the gamelan ensemble. This
ensemble plays a significant role in Indonesian music and culture. Indonesia has a rich
musical tradition, which is one of the oldest in the world.
The republic of Indonesia is a country in in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the
fourth biggest nation of the world. Like the Philippines, it is an archipelago comprising
of approximately 17,508 islands. The most famous of Indonesia’s islands is the exotic
Bali, known for its captivating art and temples. The nation’s capital is Jakarta.
Indonesia is the nearest country among the Asian nations, to the Philippines, thus the
countries have similarities in words and culture. The name Indonesia is derived from
the Latin and Greek word, Indus, and the Greek nésos, meaning “island”.
6. Indonesian music may be divided into two forms:
1. Vocal Music – It is in the form of long historical narratives, courting and love songs,
devotional praise and melodies, and children songs. It is used together with
gamelan for ornamentation purpose.
a. Pesindhen – female singer who sings with gamelan
b. Gerong – male chorus who sings with gamelan in unison
c. Berong Becayan – mixed chorus which sings with gamelan
2. Instrumental Music
Two predominant scales are used in the traditional Indonesian music, the
slendro, and the pelog scale.
Each has a unique character as described by the interval between notes.
7. The slendro derived its name from the Indian Kings of the Sailendra Dynasty
who ruled Java between the eighth and tenth century. It is a pentatonic scale and older
than the pelog.
The pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and
Java, in Indonesia. In Javanese, the term is said to be variant of the word pelag
meaning “fine”, or “beautiful”. Pelog has seven notes.
Gamelan music is the most important kind of music in Indonesia and an
essential part of the Indonesian culture. It is polyphonic in structure, made up of many
layers of simple melodic lines and rhythmic patterns.
The word, gamelan, came from the ancient terms, “gamble” or “gamel” which
means to play musically or to hammer.
8. Gamelan music is complicated. It is an ancient form of music and has been handed
down for many generations, never written down, but learned by being played.
The gamelan is an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments made up of
gongs, metal phones, and drums. Most instruments are struck with wooden mallets,
padded sticks,, or hammers. It varies from islands to islands.
9. Characteristics of Javanese Gamelan and Balinese Gamelan
Javanese Gamelan
• Used for court music
• Percussion dominated
• Style of playing gives solemn character
Balinese Gamelan
• Used for sacred music
• Consist of metallophone, mostly gongs
• Sudden change of tempo and dynamics
• Sounds are very bright and brilliant
• Used fast and rattling sounds of cymbals
10. Javanese Gamelan Balinese Gamelan
Bonang - plays the melody in the Gamelan
ensemble
Gender- a matallophone with bronze
sustained keys suspend by cords in a wooden
frame
Saron – produces a tone one octave higher
than demung, smaller size
Kenong – a set of small gongs
Gamelan Musical Instruments
11. Javanese Gamelan Balinese Gamelan
Gong Ageng – the most important
instrument of the Gamelan
Kempul – a set of pitched gongs
Ceng-ceng – a set of four cymbals mounted
and inverted on a wooden frame
Kendang – a set of drums of different sizes
12. Facts about the Gamelan:
1. It is believed to be guided by spirits, thus Indonesians offer flowers and incense to it.
2. Shoes must be removed before entering the are of the orchestra.
3. Stepping over the instruments is forbidden.
4. Only the best player is allowed to play the gong ageng.
Functions of the Gamelan:
1. It accompanies religious ceremonies and important events.
2. It is used as a part of entertainment like the puppet show, Wayang Kulit.
3. It provides a means of livelihood to the Indonesians.
