Indonesian music: Difference between revisions

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== Tuning ==

From one region of Indonesia to another the ''slendro'' and ''pelog'' scales often vary widely. The amount of variation also varies from region to region. For example, ''slendro'' in Central Java varies much less from gamelan to gamelan than it does in Bali, where ensembles from the same village may be tuned very differently. The five pitches of the Javanese version are roughly equally spaced within the octave and ''pelog'' in Central Java roughly approximates a subset of 9-tone equal temperament. An analysis of 27 Central Javanese gamelans by Surjodiningrat (1972) revealed a statistical preference for this system of tuning.<ref>Braun, Martin (August 2002). "[http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/pelog_main.htm The ''gamelan pelog'' scale of Central Java as an example of a non-harmonic musical scale]", ''NeuroScience-of-Music.se''. Accessed on May 17, 2006</ref>

From one region of Indonesia to another the ''slendro'' and ''pelog'' scales often vary widely. The amount of variation also varies from region to region. For example, ''slendro'' in Central Java varies much less from gamelan to gamelan than it does in Bali, where ensembles from the same village may be tuned very differently. The five pitches of the Javanese version are roughly equally spaced within the octave and ''pelog'' in Central Java roughly approximates a subset of 9-tone equal temperament. An analysis of 27 Central Javanese gamelans by Surjodiningrat (1972) revealed a statistical preference for this system of tuning within ±~36⅓¢ on average.<ref>Braun, Martin (August 2002). "[http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/pelog_main.htm The ''gamelan pelog'' scale of Central Java as an example of a non-harmonic musical scale]", ''NeuroScience-of-Music.se''. Accessed on May 17, 2006</ref> Unless this roughness of the approximation is due to the nature of gamelans, it is likely the artifact of the small sample size or comparing the gamelans to [[9edo]]. Because he found three of the primary intervals to be so close to each other, a rank-5 scale with steps of 1288/9-1288/9-291⅔-1288/9-110-170-270 cents or a rank-4 scale with steps of 131⅓-131⅓-1455/6-1455/6-131⅓-110-170-131⅓-131⅓ cents may be taken as an approximation to this tuning, spanning 1228⅓ cents in all

Although the intervals vary from one gamelan to the next, the intervals between notes in a scale are very close to identical for different instruments within the same ''gamelan''. It is common in Balinese gamelan that instruments are played in pairs which are tuned slightly apart so as to produce interference beating which are ideally at a consistent speed for all pairs of notes in all registers. It is thought that this contributes to the very "busy" and "shimmering" sound of gamelan ensembles. In the religious ceremonies that contain ''gamelan'', these interference beats are meant to give the listener a feeling of a god's presence or a stepping stone to a meditative state.

For the instruments that do not need fixed pitches (such as suling and rebab) and the voice, other pitches are sometimes inserted into the scale. The Sundanese musicologist/teacher Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata identified 17 vocal pitches used in ''slendro''.<ref>[[Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata]]. ''Ringkěsan Pangawikan Riněnggaswara''. Jakarta: Noordhoff-Kollff, c. 1950, page 17. Cited in [[~~Mantle Hood~~|Hood, Mantle]] (1977). ''The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Pathet in Javanese Music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. New York: Da Capo.</ref> These microtonal adjustments bear some similarity to [[Indian]] ''śruti''.

For the instruments that do not need fixed pitches (such as suling and rebab) and the voice, other pitches are sometimes inserted into the scale. The Sundanese musicologist/teacher Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata identified 17 vocal pitches used in ''slendro''.<ref>[[wikipedia:Raden_Machjar_Angga_Koesoemadinata|Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata]]. ''Ringkěsan Pangawikan Riněnggaswara''. Jakarta: Noordhoff-Kollff, c. 1950, page 17. Cited in [[wikipedia:Mantle_Hood|Hood, Mantle]] (1977). ''The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Pathet in Javanese Music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. New York: Da Capo.</ref> These microtonal adjustments bear some similarity to [[Indian]] ''śruti''.

== Usage ==

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 == Tuning ==
-From one region of Indonesia to another the ''slendro'' and ''pelog'' scales often vary widely. The amount of variation also varies from region to region. For example, ''slendro'' in Central Java varies much less from gamelan to gamelan than it does in Bali, where ensembles from the same village may be tuned very differently. The five pitches of the Javanese version are roughly equally spaced within the octave and ''pelog'' in Central Java roughly approximates a subset of 9-tone equal temperament. An analysis of 27 Central Javanese gamelans by Surjodiningrat (1972) revealed a statistical preference for this system of tuning.<ref>Braun, Martin (August 2002). "[http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/pelog_main.htm The ''gamelan pelog'' scale of Central Java as an example of a non-harmonic musical scale]", ''NeuroScience-of-Music.se''. Accessed on May 17, 2006</ref>
+From one region of Indonesia to another the ''slendro'' and ''pelog'' scales often vary widely. The amount of variation also varies from region to region. For example, ''slendro'' in Central Java varies much less from gamelan to gamelan than it does in Bali, where ensembles from the same village may be tuned very differently. The five pitches of the Javanese version are roughly equally spaced within the octave and ''pelog'' in Central Java roughly approximates a subset of 9-tone equal temperament. An analysis of 27 Central Javanese gamelans by Surjodiningrat (1972) revealed a statistical preference for this system of tuning within ±~36⅓¢ on average.<ref>Braun, Martin (August 2002). "[http://www.neuroscience-of-music.se/pelog_main.htm The ''gamelan pelog'' scale of Central Java as an example of a non-harmonic musical scale]", ''NeuroScience-of-Music.se''. Accessed on May 17, 2006</ref> Unless this roughness of the approximation is due to the nature of gamelans, it is likely the artifact of the small sample size or comparing the gamelans to [[9edo]]. Because he found three of the primary intervals to be so close to each other, a rank-5 scale with steps of 128<sup>8</sup>/<sub>9</sub>-128<sup>8</sup>/<sub>9</sub>-291⅔-128<sup>8</sup>/<sub>9</sub>-110-170-270 cents or a rank-4 scale with steps of 131⅓-131⅓-145<sup>5</sup>/<sub>6</sub>-145<sup>5</sup>/<sub>6</sub>-131⅓-110-170-131⅓-131⅓ cents may be taken as an approximation to this tuning, spanning 1228⅓ cents in all
 Although the intervals vary from one gamelan to the next, the intervals between notes in a scale are very close to identical for different instruments within the same ''gamelan''. It is common in Balinese gamelan that instruments are played in pairs which are tuned slightly apart so as to produce interference beating which are ideally at a consistent speed for all pairs of notes in all registers. It is thought that this contributes to the very "busy" and "shimmering" sound of gamelan ensembles. In the religious ceremonies that contain ''gamelan'', these interference beats are meant to give the listener a feeling of a god's presence or a stepping stone to a meditative state.
-For the instruments that do not need fixed pitches (such as suling and rebab) and the voice, other pitches are sometimes inserted into the scale. The Sundanese musicologist/teacher Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata identified 17 vocal pitches used in ''slendro''.<ref>[[Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata]]. ''Ringkěsan Pangawikan Riněnggaswara''. Jakarta: Noordhoff-Kollff, c. 1950, page 17. Cited in [[Mantle Hood|Hood, Mantle]] (1977). ''The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Pathet in Javanese Music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. New York: Da Capo.</ref> These microtonal adjustments bear some similarity to [[Indian]] ''śruti''.
+For the instruments that do not need fixed pitches (such as suling and rebab) and the voice, other pitches are sometimes inserted into the scale. The Sundanese musicologist/teacher Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata identified 17 vocal pitches used in ''slendro''.<ref>[[wikipedia:Raden_Machjar_Angga_Koesoemadinata|Raden Machjar Angga Koesoemadinata]]. ''Ringkěsan Pangawikan Riněnggaswara''. Jakarta: Noordhoff-Kollff, c. 1950, page 17. Cited in [[wikipedia:Mantle_Hood|Hood, Mantle]] (1977). ''The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Pathet in Javanese Music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. New York: Da Capo.</ref> These microtonal adjustments bear some similarity to [[Indian]] ''śruti''.
 == Usage ==