Photo by Greg Soble

Gamelan

'Gamelan' refers to the Balinese traditional percussion orchestra and to the music performed on it. Closely related to Javanese gamelan, an older form, scholars speculate that the Balinese ensemble of bronze gongs, bamboo flutes and tuned keys has been played for at least a millennium on the island.

While the Jazz era was raging in New York City in the early decades of the twentieth century, Balinese artists were developing their own new form of music and dance renowned for its dynamic, virtuosic group performance techniques, complexity and expression. Called kebyar ("explosion"), the form quickly became the most popular music on the island, with hundreds of villages developing their own Gamelan Gong Kebyar ensembles; intense competitions between kebyar ensembles remain a major element of Balinese musical culture.

Gamelan Dharma Swara's Gong Kebyar ensemble is owned by the Indonesian Consulate, which graciously hosts our rehearsals and activities, and is directed by I Nyoman Saptanyana, a graduate of the Conservatory of Fine Arts in Denpasar, Bali.

Gamelan Dharma Swara's instrumentarium also includes a gamelan semara dana, a newly invented 7-tone ensemble, as well as a gamlan batel gender wayang, a five-tone ensemble used to accompany Balinese shadow theater.

Gamelan Dharma Swara's repertoire includes a wide variety of classic lelambatan, semar pegulingan saih pitu, kebyar and various pelegongan dance works as well as new instrumental works composed by Gamelan Dharma Swara members.

Teaching Styles

Our Balinese directors teach gamelan using primarily traditional oral/aural methods. We do not use notation and the extended and intricate patterns of Balinese music are learned over long periods of intense rehearsal involving imitation and repetition rather than explicit theorizing. This learning method can strike some Western trained musicians as overwhelming or difficult but we have found that the intense investment in group rehearsal helps our members develop their memories (musical and otherwise), increases their rhythmic precision and helps them play with a sense of ensemble beyond that they have previously known.

Further Reading: Tenzer, Michael.1998. Balinese Music. Periplus.