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