What are the characteristics of Balinese music?

Traditional Balinese music prefers textures that are bright, thick, and busy, often very loud and “noisy” by Western standards, with wide tuning and many simultaneous layers of sound, quite unlike any textures commonly found in Western music. Polyphony is not used. Monophony is common, but with a wide tuning.

What is the traditional music like in Bali?

Gamelan is a traditional percussive music that accompanies the life of Balinese people, an integral part of the culture. The distinctive sound knows no language boundary, meaning anyone can appreciate this form of art. Discover the best places to enjoy the unique and soothing sounds of gamelan in Bali.

What is the sound of Balinese gamelan?

These Balinese metallophones produce very bright sound. Another characteristic of Balinese Gamelan music is the used of cymbals. These cymbals create fast rattling sound that usually cannot be found in Javanese Gamelan music.

What Balinese musicians?

Balinese music is based around an instrument known as the Gamelan. Gamelan or Gong, traditional musical instrument from Bali, is such a central part of Balinese music that the whole ‘orchestra’ is also referred to as a gamelan.

What type of musical instruments does the music of Bali called gamelan mostly require?

The most popular and famous form of Indonesian music is probably gamelan, an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that include metallophones, drums, gongs and spike fiddles along with bamboo flutes.

Where does Balinese music come from?

Java
Balinese music represents, to a large extent, a survival of the pre-Islamic music of Java. It was taken to Bali by Hindu Javanese in the 15th cent. and uses the tonal systems of Javanese music, of which pelog is by far the more important in Bali.

What is the mood of gamelan music?

The difference between the music of Java and Bali is striking, as different as night and day: the soft, shockless resonance of the Javanese gamelan has been refined to create a mood of untroubled calm and mystic serenity; by contrast, Balinese gamelan is vigorous, rhythmic and explosive, with a bright percussive sound …

What are the two main gamelan traditions?

Javanese gamelan In the Javanese palaces, the gamelan is divided into two, namely the gamelan pakurmatan and gamelan ageng.

What culture is gamelan?

Across Indonesia, but particularly on the islands of Java and Bali, gamelan is the most popular form of traditional music. A gamelan ensemble consists of a variety of metal percussion instruments, usually made of bronze or brass, including xylophones, drums, and gongs.

What are the two most famous gamelan of Indonesia?

The term gamelan refers in general to a variety of musical ensembles from southeast Asia. By far the most world-renowned gamelan are the musical ensembles of Bali and Java, two of the many islands of Indonesia.

What is Bali dance?

Balinese dance is an ancient dance tradition that is part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people of Bali island, Indonesia. Balinese dance is dynamic, angular and intensely expressive. Balinese dancers express the stories of dance-drama through the bodily gestures including gestures of fingers, hands, head and eyes.

What is the difference between Balinese and Javanese gamelan?

Balinese and Javanese gamelan, though sharing instruments, differ significantly. For example, Balinese gamelan tends to be more dynamic and nimble, alternating quickly between beats; whereas Javanese gamelan tends to be quieter and solemn.

Is Bali in the South Pacific?

The island of Bali is located at 8.6500° S, 115.2167° E as part of Indonesia in the South Pacific, just above Australia.

What are Balinese gamelan instruments made of?

Whilst this is true in some cases, most gamelan instruments in Bali are made of bronze – a mix of copper (tembaga) and tin (timah) that gong smiths refer to as ‘kerawang’. Ratios vary, but the standard is said to be around thirty parts copper to ten parts tin. Kerawang is considered superior to iron due to its louder and crisper sound when hit and because it is more resonant and therefore can be heard farther away.