Gamelan_degung

Gamelan degung

Gamelan degung

Indonesian traditional musical instruments

Gamelan degung is a form of Sundanese musical ensemble that uses a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of degung scale. The instruments are manufactured under local conditions in towns in West Java such as Bogor and Bandung.[1] Degung music is often played at public gatherings in West Java, such as at local elections, as well as many other events.[2] There is international interest in degung as well among communities in other countries interested in Indonesian and gamelan music.[3]

Quick Facts Classification, Inventor(s) ...
Quick Facts Country, Domains ...

Gamelan degung also playable in madenda scale, which is included in the set as a complementary tone, usually marked as a -3/ni tone in the set. Playing gamelan degung in this scale requires the substitution of the 3/na metal bars into -3/ni tones on all instruments.

degung and madenda scale comparison
Degung 5 4 3 2 1
Madenda 5 4 -3 2 1
reading la ti na ni mi da

Instruments

The instrumentation of gamelan degung is quite flexible. It may include:

  • Bonang/kolènang: two rows of seven small bulbous gongs. It differs from its Javanese counterpart in that the rows are each placed on either side of the player.
  • saron/peking: a high-pitched bronze metallophone with fourteen keys. Usually, there are two sarons in a single set.
  • panerus: another bronze metallophone, similar to the peking but pitched an octave lower.
  • Jengglong: six bulbous gongs suspended from the same frame. Could be played like bonang, or hanged.
  • goong ageung: a large gong.
  • Pancer: a smaller gong, secondary gong.
  • A set of kendang, consisting of one large (kendang indung) and two small double-sided drums (kulantér).
  • Suling degung: a four-holed bamboo flute.
  • Suling kawih: a six-holed bamboo flute, interchangeably used with suling degung
  • Gambang: a wooden xylophone.
  • Kacapi: a zither.

In classical degung, the bonang serves as a conductor for the whole ensemble. Except in certain modern compositions, it is rarely absent.

  • Closeup of a bonang from gamelan degung
  • Sundanese gamelan degung
  • Sundanese students playing gamelan degung on the street
  • Gamelan degung performed by Indra Swara in Mexico
  • Gamelan degung instruments
  • Bonang

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Retno K. Djojo, "For the love of music", The Jakarta Post, 29 January 2010.
  2. [2]
    Theresia Sufa, "Sundanese music and dance liven election day in Bogor", The Jakarta Post, 26 October 2008.
  3. [3]
    Dewi Anggraeni, "Melbourne: Gamelan, elephants and 'Jackpot'", Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Jakarta Post, 22 February 2004.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Gamelan_degung, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.