Music in Different Cultures

Gamelan is a form of traditional music popular in the Indonesians. It is mostly performed in traditional events and celebrations. Since different regions have different rules for gamelan, we will focus on Javanese gamelan, a form of gamelan in central Java, to avoid more complications.

There are a few aspects in Javanese gamelan to be discussed:

1. The instruments
2. The music theories
3. The music notations
4. The interactions

It would be inappropriate for me to merely view Javanese gamelan through the lens of a western-European classical music student. To really understand how Javanese gamelan operates, it is equally important to understand the study of ethnomusicology, which can be interpreted as “anthropology for music” – the study of music in different cultures.

• Gamelan Instruments

• Music Theories

• Musical Notations

• Interactions