NWM Indonesia

What are the major religions practiced in

Indonesia?

Animism, Hinduism, Islam

What are the two primary Indonesian musical

cultures?

Javanese, Balinese

What 16th century event led to European

interest in Indonesia?

Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe

What was the primary reason for Dutch

colonization of Indonesia in the 1600s?

Spice trade, rubber trees

List a characteristic of Animism

Reverence for ancestors (and their spirits), and

animate and inanimate objects

What does “gamel” mean?

To hammer

Where and when was the gamelan orchestra

first showcased in Europe?

1889 World’s Exposition in Paris

List an idiophone found in the gamelan

ensemble

Metallophone, Xylophone, Pot, Cymbal, Gong

List a characteristic of the Javanese gamelan

Soft style

Performed at courts & palaces

Slow & hypnotic

Use of Voices, Rebab

Texts drawn largely from Hindu prayers

List a characteristic of the Balinese gamelan

Strong style; Performed at temples;

Louder and faster than Javanese style;

Sudden changes in tempo, texture, melody;

Dance can be included (Kebyar); No voices or rebab;

Flute sometimes added

Cyclic form in gamelan performance is largely

based on what religion?

Hinduism

List a manner in which the gong is especially

revered in gamelan music

Has dragon decorations that scare dangerous spirits/

Incense and flowers are offered to the gong prior to a

performance

What is Polyphonic Stratification?

Multiple layers of instrumental activity/

Different instruments have different functions

What are the three functions of Polyphonic

Stratification?

Melody, Elaboration, Punctuation

What are the two primary gamelan scales?

Slendro/Pelog

What Indonesian form combines music with

stories told through dance?

Kebyar

What type of ensemble accompanies Kebyar?

Balinese Gamelan

What is Wayang Kulit?

Indonesian puppet theater

What is the Wayang Kulit puppeteer called?

Dhalang

What symbol is used in Wayang Kulit to signal

scene changes and provide a spiritual presence

on stage?

Tree of Life

What are Indonesian pitched bamboo rattles

called?

Angklung

What technique is commonly associated with

angklung ensemble performance?

Interlocking Melody

What Indonesian musical style is based on

gamelan performance, but uses voices instead

of instruments?

Kecak

What epic story is adapted for kecak

performance?

Ramayana

The kecak “monkey chant” is performed by

what group?

Male Chorus

What are the two most important musical cultures of Indonesia

Javanese Gamelan and Balinese Gamelan

What European group colonized Indonesia in the 1600s?

The Dutch

What are some aspects of Animism

Reverence for ancestors, spirits, and inanimate objects

When and where was the Indonesian gamelan first showcased in Europe?

1889 World’s expo in Paris

When and where was the Indonesian gamelan first introduced in the United

States?

1893 Colombian Expo in Chicago

What occurred with the gamelan instruments and related items following

the Columbian Exposition in Chicago?

Gamelan props and sets were stored in the basement of MSI and then later rediscovered in the 1960’s by UChicago

What American anthropologist did studies of Indonesia that influenced

successive anthropologists and ethnomusicologists

Margaret Mead (produced studies on the “-nesia’s”

Based on the Sachs-Hornbostel classification system, what type of

instruments are most prominent in the gamelan ensemble?

Idiophone percussion

List a gamelan instrument that can be traced back to Arab culture

The Ud

List a characteristic that is specific to the Javanese gamelan

• played in courts and palaces

• slow and hypnotic

• texts from hindu prayers

• voices, rebab

List a characteristic that is specific to the Balinese gamelan

• Performed at temples

• dance can be included (kebyar)

• louder and faster than Javanese

• sudden changes in tempo/texture/melody

• no voices or rebab, sometimes flute

What is an ostinato?

repetition of short phrases

Cyclic form in gamelan music is thought to be derived from what religious

source?

Hindu-Buddhist concepts of time

What is an interlocking melody?

2+ instruments alternate different sounds to create a singular cohesive line

What type of decorations are found on gongs? What is the reason for this?

dragon decor to scare evil spirits

What is offered to the gong prior to a performance?

flowers and incense to purify and welcome good

layer system: Melody

5/7 note scale passages, nuclear melody, larger xylophones and pots

Layer system: Elaboration

basic melody notes played at a fast rate, smaller xylophones, metallophones

Layer system: punctuation

gongs play the first note of a rhythmic scale

What term describes the system of layers found in gamelan music?

Polyphonic stratification

What are the two primary scales associated with the gamelan?

Slendro (5 note scale) and Pelog (7 note scale)

What is the Indonesian dance form that is accompanied by Balinese

gamelan and tells stories based on Hindu Vedas?

Kebyar

What is the Indonesian form of shadow puppet theater known as?

Wayang Kulit

What types of functions is the Wayang Kulit performed for?

Special occasions (weddings, birthdays, planting of rice crops)

What type of musical accompaniment is used for a Wayang Kulit

performance?

Gamelan ensemble with a screen in front

What is a dahlang

Puppeteer

How does a dahlang prepare for a performance

• knows history and literature of the form

• considered a healer, meditates and fasts before performing

List one of the responsibilities of the dahlang

• voices characters

• sings

• blesses the state

• operates puppet

How many puppets are used in a single Wayang Kulit performance?

Over 180 puppets

How is the “tree of life’ symbol used in the Wayang Kulit?

signals scene changes and ending, spiritual presence on stage

When are Wayang Kulit performances held?

dusk until dawn (up to 9 hours)

How many scenes are in a Wayang Kulit performance?

3 scenes

How many puppet categories are in Wayang Kulit?

5 (refined, medium refined, rough, clowns, miscellaneous)

What types of stories are the Wayang Kulit performances based on?

Indian epics

What do Wayang Kulit performances teach

good behavior

What is an interlocking melody

each player has 1 note, all play together

What was angklung music originally performed for?

religious services

What story does a kecak performance retell?

ramayana story

The kecak segment in which a chorus of men imitate monkeys in a tree

is known as what?

Ramayana monkey chant

Puspawarna- Kinds of Flowers (Javanese example)

bell sound, one singer, earthy

Tari Kebyar Duduk (Balinese example)

Wind chimes, quiet-loud, quiet air noise in the background

Gambus: “Cari Haburon” (Kebyar example)

based on islamic spirtual poems, use of ud and rebab, heterophonic texture

Entertainment/pop music “Curhan Hati”

• 1950’s, mostly heterophonic

• wester/non-western instruments used

• limited sense of popular music/jazz

• implied harmonies