Musicians drum up support for saving traditional music

Musicians drum up support for saving traditional music

By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo

JAKARTA (JP): Imagine a caravan of mules and a group of
experts climbing the hills of Sulawesi. Carrying heavy equipment,
the group is searching for the world's most universal, and
valuable, language: music.

Led by Philip Yampolsky, a U.S. ethnomusicologist, the group
was on its way to record South Sulawesi traditional music. The
group has been traveling across Indonesia for a few years,
recording the sounds of Gendang Karo drums from North Sumatra to
the string music of Irian Jaya.

Yet, the effort by these experts seems to be wasted since the
younger generation is more interested in American groups like
Pearl Jam or Oasis. Sad to say, many of us ignore our own
traditional music.

"Actually it is not the end of the world for traditional
music. It is right, some traditional music has ceased to exist,
while others continue to survive," said Anthony Seeger, the
curator of Center of Folklife Program and Cultural Studies in
Washington D.C.

Both Seeger and Yampolsky were here last week to address a
discussion on Indonesian music's place in the world.

Having lived in Brazil for 10 years to study the traditional
music of the Amazon's Suya tribe, Seeger knows that the effort to
preserve traditional music is an arduous struggle. Before he took
his current position at the prestigious center, he led a struggle
to maintain the social and cultural existence of the tribe.

Containing an extensive archive of American folk music as well
as ethnic music from all over the world, the center is a part of
the world renowned Smithsonian Institute. Among the 2,000 CDs,
17,000 commercial discs and 500,000 feet of motion picture film
in its archive, the center has produced 31 titles which contain
Indonesian music.

Fifteen of the titles are music recorded by Yampolsky in
Indonesia, called Music of Indonesia Series, released through
Smithsonian Folkways.

The effort is meant to provide detailed information about
Indonesian traditional music, its history and present day
cultural context.

Concentrating on music that is less known outside, and in some
cases within, Indonesia, the series offers a sampling of musical
variety by presenting an exploratory aural experience.

"We would like to increase our understanding and learn about
the people in the world. Recording allows us to have a hold on
traditional music," said Seeger. He added that the effort is a
long-term drive to preserve the music for future generations.

Yampolsky, who also edited and annotated the musical series,
said that although traditional music would never occupy the place
it used to, there is still a chance for the music to survive.

"Even if the young generation is not interested with this type
of music, there is a high probability that they would want to
study the music later," Yampolsky said.

Currently, many Indonesian musicians add ethnic color to their
compositions and this is seen as beneficial to the development of
traditional music.

Some, like Djaduk Ferianto and Soedjiwo Tedjo, have explored
Javanese music and succeeded to present their music in a
contemporary setting. Soedjiwo's album has even gained quite a
high sales record.

Gilang Ramadhan, a drummer from the well-known Krakatau group,
also has a small collection of ethnic music in his studio. Gilang
plans to eventually create a library of traditional music from
all over Indonesia, from which he could draw some inspiration.

"Such an attempt actually shows how music develops. One of the
main issues to be considered, however, is whether traditional
music receives the proper credit when mainstream musicians start
to use it in their compositions," said Seeger.

He added that in many countries, including Indonesia, most
traditional music is considered to be a public domain, which
explains why traditional music and musicians cannot develop
commercially like popular music has.

In some countries like Ghana, however, the government collects
copyright fees from the public domain. The government then uses
the money to fund the development of traditional music through
festivals.

The preservation of traditional music is futile, however, when
it is not followed by audience development.

Currently, some local and international institutions have been
directed to increase the public's appreciation of Indonesian
traditional music. Communication for Arts Foundation (KOMSENI)
has organized an art appreciation program for minors. The program
has been successfully carried out over the past couple of years.

The Ford Foundation, which funded the Music of Indonesian
Series, also supports activities that increase public interest in
arts and culture. The foundation funded workshops between radio
stations and traditional musicians as well as arranged for
traditional artists to visit high schools in Jakarta.

"The place of traditional music in society will be in jeopardy
when the public starts to lose pride in the music," said
Yampolsky.