Gamelan’s musical attributes

The earliest known records of gamelan were found in the reliefs of Borobudur Temple, dating back as far back as the 8th-century.

But as with many other historical objects, it’s difficult to pinpoint a sole or exact origin, whether of time or place, from which gamelan came to be and develop. Scholars argue that a combination of Hindu and Buddhism influences, Java’s own local customs, and the bronze culture in Southeast Asia all contributed to this mystical orchestra. Later, Middle Eastern influences added bowed instruments and European military style added variety to the rhythms. In short, the wide array of instruments, styles, and even tunings are drawn from the archipelago’s own long history and diversity.

Without getting into great technical details about this traditional orchestra, it is worth noting that there are different tunings for in different gamelan sets. Tuning is a very complex process and consideration when putting together a set of gamelan. There are at least four different scales used in different gamelan, including the diatonic scale.

The composition of gamelan music also pays attention to the combination of tempo and density called irama. Generally, Balinese gamelan sounds more dramatic and loud compared to the Javanese. The style of music falls into even more variation in the northern and southern part of the island, the northern Bali music is often said to be more aggressive.

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