Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones and a set of hand-drums called kendang, which keep the beat. The kemanak, a banana-shaped idiophone, and the gangsa, another metallophone, are also commonly used gamelan instruments on Bali. Other notable instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed string instrument called a rebab, and a zither-like instrument called a siter, used in Javanese gamelan. Additionally, vocalists will be featured, being referred to as sindhen for females or gerong for males.
As it is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, the music of Indonesia itself is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area to area also uniquely differs from one another. For example, each traditional music are often accompanied by their very own dance and theatre. Contemporary music scene have also been heavily shaped by various foreign influences, such as America, Britain, Japan, Korea, and India.
Celempungan is a Sundanese musical genre that includes several musical instruments such as kacapi, kendang, goong/gong, and suling or rebab (optional), and Juru Kawih (singer). Kendang, the drum, controls the tempo of the ensemble and reinforces the meter.
The kacapi is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similar to Chinese guzheng, Japanese koto, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, the Vietnamese đàn tranh and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played as the main accompanying instrument in the Tembang Sunda or Mamaos Cianjuran, kacapi suling genre, pantun stories recitation or an additional instrument in Gamelan Degung performance.
Gamelan degung is a form of Sundanese musical ensemble that uses a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of degung scale. The instruments are manufactured under local conditions in towns in West Java such as Bogor and Bandung. Degung music is often played at public gatherings in West Java, such as at local elections, as well as many other events. There is international interest in degung as well among communities in other countries interested in Indonesia and gamelan music.
West Java is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to the west, the Java Sea to the north, the province of Central Java to the east and the Indian Ocean to the south. With Banten, this province is the native homeland of the Sundanese people, the second-largest ethnic group in Indonesia.
The angklung is a musical instrument from the Sundanese people in Indonesia made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves, similar to Western handbells. The base of the frame is held in one hand, while the other hand shakes the instrument, causing a repeating note to sound. Each performer in an angklung ensemble is typically responsible for just one pitch, sounding their individual angklung at the appropriate times to produce complete melodies.
The suling is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asian, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
The Sunda or Sundanese are an indigenous ethnic group native to the western region of Java island in Indonesia, primarily West Java. They number approximately 42 million and form Indonesia's second most populous ethnic group. They speak the Sundanese language, which is part of the Austronesian languages.
A kendang or gendang is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the gamelan ensembles of Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese music. It is also used in various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups. It is related to the Indian double-headed mridangam drum.
The siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan. They are related to the kacapi used in Sundanese gamelan.
Tembang sunda, also called seni mamaos cianjuran, is a style of classical vocal music that originated in the Priangan highland of western Java. Unlike Sundanese gamelan music, tembang sunda was developed in the court of the regent Kabupaten Cianjur during the Dutch colonial period. The traditional vocal portion is sung free verse poetry, the instrumental accompaniment being performed on kacapi (zither), suling and sometimes, rebab (violin). A more modern, and metrical, form of lyrics exists that is called panambih.
The Harmony Chinese Music Group (和聲中樂團) is a Chinese music group founded in 2001 in Bandung, Indonesia. The group seeks to promote a wide variety of world music based on Indonesian culture using Chinese musical instruments, as well as exploring contemporary styles.
SambaSunda is an Indonesian ethnic music fusion group based in Bandung, the capital and cultural centre of Sundanese culture, Indonesia. SambaSunda are a 14-piece ensemble bringing together a pan-Indonesian array of instruments and influences to create a new style gamelan orchestra. Their style mainly influenced by Sundanese culture such as gamelan and degung Sunda, Tembang Sunda and Kacapi suling.
Sundanese dances is a dance tradition that is a part of ritual, artistic expression as well as entertainment and social conduct among the Sundanese people of West Java and Banten, Indonesia. Sundanese dance is usually cheerful, dynamic and expressive, with flowing movements in-sync with the beat of kendang accompanied with Gamelan degung music ensemble.
Sandiwara is a genre of traditional theatrical drama of Indonesia. In general, it refers to any kind of drama or theatrical performances, and literally sandiwara means "to pretend" or "to act". However, the term is often used to describe a genre of traditional drama of West Java. Sandiwara Sunda is a type of sandiwara performed in Sundanese and presenting Sundanese themes, folklores and stories. It is quite similar to Javanese ketoprak or wayang orang.
West Java Syndicate is an Indonesian ethnic-fusion music group founded in 2010 in Bandung, Indonesia. The group seeks to promote a wide variety of world music based on Sundanese music using traditional Sundanese musical instruments, as well as exploring contemporary styles.
Sundanese Music is an umbrella term that encompasses diverse musical traditions of the West Java and Banten in western part of Java, Indonesia. The term of "West Java" is preferred by scholars in this field. The word "Sundanese" originally referred to western part of Java Island and has a strong association with the highly centralized Sunda Kingdom based on Java Island and its high culture practiced by the nobleman class in its capital Parahyangan. By contrast, scholars who cover a much broader region lay emphasis on folk culture.
Sisingaan or also known as Gotong Singa, Singa Ungkleuk, Singa Depok, Kuda Ungkleuk, Pergosi or Odong-odong, is a traditional Sundanese lion dance originated from Subang, West Java, Indonesia. This lion dance performance marked by a form of an ark or palanquin that resembles a lion. The lion ark or lion-shaped effigy is carried by a group of dancers who perform various attractions accompanied by traditional music. The lion palanquin is being ride by a children. This dance usually performed to celebrate the child's circumcision ceremony, where the child is carried on a lion around the kampung (village).
