Gamelan made of bamboo : CODASHOP
An important tool in West Java Gamelan and made from
An important instrument in the West Java gamelan and made of bamboo will be discussed this time. Before the advent of modern musical instruments in Indonesia, each region had its own traditional musical instruments. Each traditional musical instrument has its own uniqueness, how to play in a different history and therefore it is very interesting.
West Java is one of the regions that has many regional musical instruments and has been preserved to this day. Speaking of traditional musical instruments from western Java, there is no doubt that many of us think of angklong. There is no denying that angklung is the most popular musical instrument.
But, did you know that there are still many traditional musical instruments in West Java that are still preserved today? All traditional musical instruments must be made of natural materials, such as wood, bamboo, copper and so on. Each use of materials certainly gives a different effect to the sound produced.
That is why we will review more about the camel in West Java, both made of bamboo, wood and copper. Before moving on, it is a good idea to get acquainted in general with what a gamelan is and how the history of its development in the Java West is.
Meet the West Java Gamelan
An important tool in West Java Gamelan and made of some material may be a question for many people. But, it is good if we first know what West Java gmelan is known by the name of degung. A dagong is a traditional musical ensemble consisting of several instruments.
In general, in Gamlan consists of xylophone, kolenter, kandang, rabab, gong, dagong flute, xylophone, bonang, paneros, lear, junglong, lasaron. Each of these instruments produces different sounds or sounds, so it can be a harmonious melody as a characteristic of traditional music or songs.
Each gamelan has its own characteristics, for example, a more dynamic tempo for a Balinese gabler, a slower pace for a Javanese gamelan, and a West Javanese gamelan that is identical to the mendayu-dayu sound of rabab and flute. Both are important tools in the West Java Gamelan and are made from natural materials .
Historically, the word Degung comes from the word Ratu-agung or Tumenggung because at that time the officials really liked the gamelet music, for example, Bandung’s Regent R.A.A. Wiranatakusuma. In addition, there are still other theories that discuss the origin of the term degung, such as something magnificent and respectable.
History of Gamelan in West Java
The history of the development of an important tool in western Java Gamelan and made from natural materials will also be discussed in this article. It is estimated that at the end of the 18th or early 19th century, the Sundan gamelan began to develop with 15 gamelet devices that were introduced and had already spread throughout Java.
Of the 15 gamlan devices, in West Java there are 5 gamelan devices. Unfortunately, there is no exact information as to when the Gamlan entered West Java, but it is recorded that Gamelan entered Sonda Land around the 16th century according to the writing of the Yang Siksa Canada Cheng Karsian.
Changes in the Sundan gamlan occurred during its development, such as the addition of singing in the game which was previously banned by Regent of Cianjur RT. Wiranatakusumah V because he thought it had become less solemn and the essence of silence had disappeared. However, it is this change that has made West Java’s gamelan have the characteristics it is now.
Tana Sunda has 3 types of gamelan, namely Gamelan Slenderro or Flug, Gamelan Rantang and Gamelan-type Tilu that have their own uses. Gamelan salendro is often used in art, the Gamelan Rantang known as the basic gamelan and the tilu type gamelan which is usually used as accompaniment music.
Gamelan made of bamboo
An important tool in the West Javanese gamlan made of bamboo is the Klong Gamelan device. Only when you look at it, we probably knew that bamboo is the main material for making this traditional gamelan tool. The bamboos will be arranged to produce a series of notes that will be played later.
Salambong’s camel dishes are also made from bamboo or rather with bamboo peels. To produce sound, salambong uses resonance in bamboo segments that were sequentially arranged according to the resulting tone. How to play it by hitting a salambong with one hand, while the other hand regulates the processing of sound.
The angklung multi-tonal instrument is also made of bamboo and can produce double tones so it can be adapted again to your needs. How to play it is also very easy, namely by shaking it until it makes a sound according to the tone. The sound appears as a result of the influence of bamboo and the inner pieces of bamboo, which causes resonance.
Not only are the three important instruments in the Java Western Gamelan made from bamboo on top, there are many other instruments, such as flute, aroma and karinding for men. Bamboo material is indeed one of the natural materials capable of producing different types of sounds according to the techniques used.
Gamelan made of metal
An important tool in the western gamlan of Java and made of metal the first was the saron. This gamelan tool that enters the family of the longan uses a special bat made of wood. The way to play it is to hit the metal blade with the right hand, while the left hand holds the previous rod.
The next tool is the damung which has an almost similar appearance to Saron. This Balongan family has 2 different types, namely Flug and Slandro that make harmonious sounds. Damung has blades that tend to be wider, but thinner than sarons. The Damung Tower is larger in size.
You will also findan important tool in West Java Gamelan and it is made of metal called bonang. This tool consists of several small gongs placed on a rope in a wooden frame. Each small gong is able to produce a different tone when it is hit with a bat.
In addition, there are still some devices in West Java Gamelan made of metal, such as kwang, gong, xylophone, kempul and so on. Most of the instruments made of metal are musical instruments that are played by hitting with a special punching instrument.
Gamelan made of wood
An important instrument in the West Javanese gamelan and made of the first wood was the drum. This manual gamelan instrument has a function to determine the rhythm in the composition of the gamelan’s music. In Gamlan, several types of kandang are known, ranging from small kandaeng (katifong) to large kandang.
Another tool is the rabab, although in the past it was often made of copper, but today there are many ravines made of wood with a shape similar to an arch. The way to play it is to smooth the strings, just like when you play a modern instrument, that is, the violin by sliding the strings with a special instrument.
In addition, there is another gamelan instrument called siter, a musical instrument that is played by picking. To date, this gamelan instrument tends to be played infrequently although the sound is no less interesting than other selection instruments. This is because this musical instrument has similarities with traditional Indian musical instruments.
There are still many important devices involved in the West Java Gamelan, but some of the above tools are the most popular ones. For those of you who are interested in a Sundany gamelan, it is important to know the important devices in the West Java Gamelan and made of bamboo on top.