Radio can turn up the volume for traditional music programs<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
On the brink of the new millennium, traditional arts and
\nculture are at a crossroads. What is the role of the media,
\nespecially radio, in preserving and promoting tradition? Radio
\nexperts, musicians and scholars from the Asia-Pacific region
\nshared their experience and expertise in recent meetings held in
\nSurakarta, Central Java, and Candi Dasa, Bali.<\/p>\n
CANDI DASA, Karang Asem, Bali (JP): Radio is the mass
\ncommunication medium considered to have the most potential in
\nefforts to develop and preserve traditional music and arts.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Lindsay, an expert on traditional arts, attributed it
\nthe fact that radio was based on oral traditions and every
\nculture has a tradition of storytelling.<\/p>\n
\"In the past few years, scholars and artists did not fully
\nrealize the significant roles of radio in the development of
\ntraditional or ethnic music and arts,\" Lindsay said.<\/p>\n
Even today when television is so widespread, people in many
\ncultures find much of their entertainment through listening,
\nLindsay said.<\/p>\n
\"The fascination of listening to a good tale has never been
\nlost,\" said Lindsay, a project officer at the Ford Foundation.<\/p>\n
The meeting was organized by the \"Team of Eight\" in
\ncooperation with several organizations, including the Ford
\nFoundation, the Indonesian Performing Arts Society, Komseni and
\nseveral domestic and overseas radio stations.<\/p>\n
Among the participants were delegations from Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, Vietnam, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France
\nand the United States.<\/p>\n
The main goals of the gathering were to build strong
\nnetworking among the member countries and to encourage each
\ngovernment to devote adequate airtime for the broadcast of
\ntraditional music and arts.<\/p>\n
The fast growth of audio-visual technology has helped
\ntraditional arts survive in the modern world, she said.<\/p>\n
\"People can now learn and understand a diverse range of
\ntraditional music through television and especially radio,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Despite the rapid development of new technology and the wealth
\nof traditions and culture of countries in the Asia Pacific,
\nbroadcasting ethnic music on most radio stations presents a
\nchallenge.<\/p>\n
Broadcasting regulations of respective countries, inadequate
\nrecording materials, lack of funds and human resources and the
\ndomination of Western-oriented music have deterred many radio
\nstations from playing ethnic music.<\/p>\n
\"Most listeners, the youth in particular, prefer to hear
\npopular music, especially from the West,\" explained Errol
\nJonathan, chairman of the organizing committee.<\/p>\n
Broadcasts of ethnic music require considerable outlay and
\nknowledgeable radio producers and broadcasters, particularly when
\nthe music is performed live.<\/p>\n
Many producers and radio practitioners do not have adequate
\nknowledge of traditional music, and find it difficult to create
\ninteresting programs, he said.<\/p>\n
They also face problems in finding recordings of ethnic music
\non the market and attracting advertisers.<\/p>\n
\"It is hard for commercial radio stations to arrange such
\nprograms because they mostly rely on advertisers for their
\nincome,\" Jonathan said.<\/p>\n
State-owned Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), he said, must be
\nactive in the promotion of traditional music.<\/p>\n
Philip Yampolsky from the Smithsonian Institution in the
\nUnited States said that RRI experimented with the broadcast of
\ntraditional songs and music, which it termed hiburan daerah
\n(local entertainment), in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
\"But instead of presenting songs accompanied by traditional
\nmusical instruments such as gamelan and bamboo, RRI created local
\nsongs in Western musical arrangements,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Traditional folk songs like Ampar-Ampar Pisang from
\nKalimantan, Burung Kakak Tua and O Inani Keke from Maluku, were
\narranged and recorded with the piano, guitar and violin. The
\nmusic and songs were popularized by singers like the late Bing
\nSlamet, he said.<\/p>\n
\"RRI should be free to experiment with various ethnic music
\nprograms because the station is supported by the government,
\nmeaning it doesn't have to worry about money.\"<\/p>\n
Jonathan was pessimistic because RRI has so far acted more as
\nthe government's mouthpiece rather than a state radio network
\nholding an important mission to fully support and nurture local
\nmusic programs.<\/p>\n
He is encouraged to see the recent development of radio
\nstations in some provincial cities like Denpasar in Bali and
\nPadang and Payakumbuh, both in West Sumatra, which have started
\nto broadcast local music and other programs based on their
\ntraditions.<\/p>\n
He said Radio Yudha in Denpasar and Radio Harau in
\nPayakumbuh, West Sumatra, as good examples of how commercial
\nradio stations could support traditional arts.<\/p>\n
Their programming spans traditional music, talk shows, poetry
\nreadings, news and sports, all conducted in the regional
\nlanguages.<\/p>\n
\"They are commercial radio stations, but they have a strong
\ncommitment to supporting the development of local culture,\"
\nJonathan said.<\/p>\n
Their programs have proved appealing to both young audiences
\nand advertisers.<\/p>\n
Representatives from India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia and
\nNew Zealand also talked of similar problems in broadcasting
\ntraditional music.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's government through Radio Televisi Malaysia (RTM)
\nhas established a radio station called Radio Orang Asli, which is
\nintended to accommodate members of the indigenous population with
\nprograms in their own language and cultural sensitivities.<\/p>\n
Zainal Abidin Iberahim of RTM complained that Radio Orang
\nAsli's management found it difficult to find the music of the
\nindigenous people for broadcast because they rarely made
\nrecordings.<\/p>\n
Problems in India and Vietnam are also complex. Both countries
\ncomprise diverse ethnic communities, each with its own language,
\nculture and traditions.<\/p>\n
Traditional music programs in these countries must represent
\nmusic compositions of all members of the community to avoid the
\nemergence of social jealousy and conflict.<\/p>",
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