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Art, Architecture, Music
From The Grace of The
Gamelan to The Pulse of The Underground: The Power and
Passion of Music in Bali
A life without music would be
unthinkable in Bali. Here music is woven into the very
fabric of society, playing an essential role in ceremonies
to mark the turning of the life cycle, to celebrate the
anniversaries of temples and to accompany potent days in the
traditional calendar. Music reaffirms the value of
tradition, and expresses Balinese creativity, innovation and
aspirations for the future. It brings people together to
play and to enjoy, solidifying a sense of community and
culture. Virtually any day, anywhere in Bali, if you listen
hard enough, you can hear the sweet tones of music in the
air.
Although the Balinese are,
for the most part, no strangers to MTV or to the modern
Indonesian pop that fills the airwaves across the nation,
the most beloved music in Bali is still the traditional
gamelan. Gamelan is the Balinese word for “orchestra,”
and it refers both to the groups who play the music and to
the music itself. Gamelan music, to the uninitiated ear, can
sound quite strange, for it is very different from Western
music, using its own scale and rhythm. Those who try to
describe it tend to resort to the poetic, likening it to the
sound of water rushing along a riverbed or to the sound of
moonlight playing along the silver shores of the sea. Each
listener approaches its beauty and power differently,
although there are certain facts about this ancient and
exotic genre of music that can help the audience understand
something of its meaning. Gamelan groups can range in size
from the four person gender wayang who play to
accompany the traditional shadow puppet performances to
groups of fifty or more musicians, all playing a particular
percussion instrument in a gamelan gong
orchestra. No matter what the size of the group or the
precise type of music played, gamelan instruments all share
the general designation of percussion instruments -
instruments that are hit or tapped with mallets -- although
there are a wide range of types of instruments and ensembles
in Bali, whose characteristics may change from one village
to the next. There are xylophones, gongs, cymbals and drums,
made out of cast bronze or bamboo. Bronze instruments are
the best known, and are created by experienced instrument
makers using ancient techniques. Each piece of the orchestra
is tuned to the ensemble’s own unique scale, generally a
pentatonic or five note scale. Because they are hand made
creations, particular ensembles of instruments will be
allowed to have their own particular sound, rather than
trying to tune them to some universal standard, making each
orchestra distinctively different. In fact, variation
between gamelan groups is the inevitable outcome of the
Balinese belief that music is not only an important part of
life but is itself alive as well. Musical instruments are
thought to possess their own unique animate spirit, and as
living beings they are treated with the utmost respect, with
special ritual offerings made to them regularly as a sign of
appreciation for their beauty and value.
It has been estimated that
there are at least two thousand groups playing traditional
gamelan music in Bali, although it is hard to find an exact
count, for membership in musical associations is fluid and
shifting, with groups forming and changing personnel
according to the specific purposes for which they are
playing: an upcoming ceremony, a tourist performance, or a
local competition, for example. Most often groups are formed
by members of the same banjar, or village
association, who will gather to practice, perform and
administer the group’s funds. Most players are not full
time musicians, but instead work as farmers or laborers or
tour guides or civil servants - any of the range of
occupations in modern Bali - devoting their spare time to
their music. And most musicians play not for financial
reward but for the sheer love of the art. A particularly
proficient and professional group may be paid a small sum
for performing at a ritual event or at a hotel or
restaurant, but most of the money goes back into the group’s
treasury to use for the purchase and upkeep of the
instruments. Even as outside observers bemoan the
commercialization of Bali, the persistent popularity of the
gamelan belies the notion that the traditional Balinese arts
are falling victim to tourism and modernity. Indeed, by
playing gamelan music, Balinese reaffirm age old values of
community. In the gamelan, there are no soloists or
virtuosos or stars. The point is not for one musician to
outshine another but for the entire orchestra to perfectly
synchronize its tempo, rhythm and melody, with each member
playing a complex, interweaving counterpart to the others.
By working together to master the incredible complexity of
the music and to weave each musician’s work into the
shimmering waves of sound, Balinese gamelan players help
bring art into the everyday world and reassert the important
of cooperation and social cohesion in the modern world.
Even though the gamelan is an
ancient musical form hundreds of years old, it is not a
stagnant art. New compositions and revivals of old works are
constantly being staged, offering testimony to the Balinese
love of experiment and innovation. Today, especially
talented musicians and composers can study gamelan in state
sponsored high schools and universities for the arts, where
they also come in contact with innovative new ideas.
Balinese players have also been affected by the passion for
Balinese music shown by legions of foreign fans, who have
come to the island to study gamelan’s history, to learn to
play, and to exchange opinions about its future direction.
Groups at Western universities have exported whole sets of
gamelan instruments to teach students to appreciate this
unique genre of music, while Balinese groups have been
invited to showcase their talents abroad. These
cross-fertilizations of inspiration and devotion have helped
ensure that gamelan music remains a vital medium for
expressing both the resilience and constant renewal of
Balinese culture for the new millennium.
Gamelan is not, however, the
only music to be heard in Bali. The younger generation of
Bali - and many of its older citizens as well - have become
quite familiar with a truly global variety of musical
genres. Even in the most isolated of the island’s
villages, radios blast the latest Western rock hits,
Indonesian pop songs, and the immensely popular dangdut,
a hybrid of Arabic, Indian and Indonesian music sung to a
decidedly Western disco beat. And in urban areas like
Denpasar and Kuta, teens decked out in mohawk haircuts,
black jeans and heavy leather boots practice their punk
style and sound, singing songs in heavily accented English
that express their hopes and frustrations with the
complexities of modern Bali. And, of course, there are Bali’s
famed nightspots, where one can hear the latest jazz, funk,
rock and techno hits in a truly cosmopolitan environment.
Whatever sound you crave, from the shimmering sweetness of
the gamelan to the pulsing beat of the underground, the
island’s musical diversity is sure to enchant and inspire
you on your journey to Bali.
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