Power and passion of Balinese music

Power and passion of Balinese music

By Degung Santikarma

DENPASAR (JP): 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 cycle of
life, to celebrate the anniversaries of temples and to accompany
important days on the traditional calendar. Music reaffirms the
value of tradition and expresses Balinese creativity, innovations
and aspirations for the future. It brings people together to play
and to worship, solidifying the sense of community and culture.
Virtually every 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 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 on 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 wayang
who 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 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 handmade creations, individual
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 2,000 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, laborers, 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 the community. In the gamelan, there
are no soloists, 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.