Gamelan

So several of you asked what gamelan was:

Well, gamelan is the word to describe the word for orchestra in Indonesia- this orchestra is an ensemble consisting of varied sizes of metallophones, usually cast out of bronze or iron with wooden frames with bamboo resonators within (If you're wondering what a metallophone is, it's what lots of people mistakenly call a 'xylophone' but xylophones are the ones made out of wood.  Don't worry, it's a habit I spend about 5 years trying to get my children out of!); huge hanging gongs of mixed diameters, smaller knobbled gongs which are laid out horizontally in racks looking rather like saucepan lids, double headed drums, a 2 stringed fiddle (played like a cello) and some bamboo flutes.

Here's a google search which will show you what they look like (don't want to have any copyright issues until I can sift through and find some of my own photos!)
So are you with me so far?  Gamelan is the term for an orchestra of mainly percussion instruments (things you hit and shake) with the exception of the bamboo flutes and the two-stringed fiddles.
You find variations on a gamelan all around Indonesia. You find them mostly in Sunda (the Western mountains of Java), the centre of Java, Bali and there are also traditions in Lombok, Sumatra and more.

In Bali alone, there are loads of different types of Gamelan.

The most popular type is called Gong Kebyar and it has been around since the 20th century but is an amalgamation of older gamelan traditions.  Its sound is like the bursting open of a flower- shimmering, bright, loud, brilliant, exhilirating!  A tiny portable gamelan set is called the Gamelan angklung and is traditionally played for cremation ceremonies in Bali.

The tuning is different to our Western concept of notes:  we have what's called Equal temperament:  that means basically, that no matter where you go, a C always sounds the same, (ABCDEFG likewise)- the notes are equally spaced apart with the same number of herz between them.  In Bali, every Gamelan has its own unique tuning so if you played a tune in one village, it might sound different in another village.  Notes don't have names like A, B, C.  In Bali, they are referred to as nung, nang, neng, nung etc.  In Java, they are referred to as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (with a dot placed over the note to indicate a higher 1 or a dot under, to indicate a lower 1, etc).  Gong Kebyar uses a 5-note mode (i.e. a set of 5 notes)- so it is often considered 'pentatonic' (which means music that only uses 5 tones. Much oriental traditional music is also pentatonic)

Gamelan is a social thing- it is not meant to be played by one person alone but by the community.  In Bali, every village has its own banjar (local meeting place) where they have a gamelan which will have a collective of local men who play it (for religious ceremonies, auspicious days, weddings etc), children will learn to play and in recent times, women's groups too. Unlike many of our Western instruments which can and are played alone or as a group.  Instrruments are paired so two instruments compliment each other- one is tuned ever so slightly higher than the other so they make a shimmering wah wah sound together due to the slight clash of frequencies. They aren't mean to be played alone.
Its main purpose is to accompany traditional and religious dance- for ceremonies (Bali is Hindu)- births, marriages, cremations, tooth-filing, all manner of purposes!But there is also a strong concert aspect to it- performing in competitions, it's incredibly virtuosic!

Where do I come into this?   At university, I was extraordinarily lucky to have 3 gamelans to be able to learn: One from Bali, one from Sunda (West Java) and central Java.  I really enjoyed it and was asked to join my teacher's performing group outside of Uni. We did a variety of different concerts, all brilliant fun, including taking part in the Queen's golden jubilee celebrations parading to the Palace playing Baleganjur, a parading type of Gamelan.  Consequently, I joined a contemporary Gamelan group at the South Bank centre with which I was lucky to play in some great concerts including the Purcell room
 and in Bremen, taking part in a small improvisation group called Nem who played at the Spitz (RIP).  Finally, I went to study it in-situ at the arts college in Denpasar Bali on a scholarship from the Indonesian Goverment.

Anyway, that's just a leeetle introduction for those of you that asked!  Post any questions in the comments box!