The bass drum, or kick drum, is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The heads may be made of calfskin or plastic and there is normally a means of adjusting the tension either by threaded taps or by strings. Bass drums are built in a variety of sizes, but size does not dictate the volume produced by the drum. The pitch and the sound can vary much with different sizes, but the size is also chosen based on convenience and aesthetics. Bass drums are percussion instruments and vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished.
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 played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat. The kemanak and gangsa are commonly used gamelan instruments in Java. Other instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab, siter, and vocalists named sindhen (Female) or gerong (Male).
Wayang, also known as wajang, is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originated on the Indonesian island of Java. Wayang refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali. The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as well as local adaptations of cultural legends. Traditionally, a wayang is played out in a ritualized midnight-to-dawn show by a dalang, an artist and spiritual leader; people watch the show from both sides of the screen.
Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh.
Topeng is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance in which one or more mask-wearing, ornately costumed performers interpret traditional narratives concerning fabled kings, heroes and myths, accompanied by gamelan or other traditional music instruments.
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu is a xylophone-like instrument used among peoples of Indonesia in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang gangsa, is a similar instrument made with metal bars.
Kendang or Gendang is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Indonesian Archipelago. Kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the Gamelan ensembles of Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese, the Kendang ensemble as well as 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 a relation to the Indian mridangam double-headed drum.
Colotomy is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. In the gamelan, this is usually done by gongs of various size: the kempyang, ketuk, kempul, kenong, gong suwukan, and gong ageng. The fast-playing instruments, kempyang and ketuk, keep a regular beat. The larger gongs group together these hits into larger groupings, playing once per each grouping. The largest gong, the gong ageng, represents the largest time cycle and generally indicates that that section will be repeated, or the piece will move on to a new section.
The dhalang or dalang is the puppeteer in an Indonesian wayang performance.
The kecer are a pair of small cymbals set inside a rack (rancak) used in the gamelan of Indonesia. The rack is similar in design to that of a saron, except less wide. The bottom cymbals are permanently fixed in the rack, while the top are attached by a cord to the bottom ones. They are used in the accompaniment of wayang.
The buka is the short introduction to pieces of gamelan. It is also called the bubuka or bubuka opaq-opaq.
Wayang wong, also known as wayang orang, is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the Ramayana or Mahabharata. Performances are stylised, reflecting Javanese court culture:
Wayang wong dance drama in the central Javanese Kraton of Yogyakarta represents the epitome of Javanese aesthetic unity. It is total theatre involving dance, drama, music, visual arts, language, and literature. A highly cultured sense of formality permeates every aspect of its presentation.
Sulukan normally refers to mood setting songs by a puppeteer (dhalang) in Javanese wayang ("puppet") performances in Indonesia. The term can also refer to the pathetan pieces played before and after gamelan pieces in a non-wayang context, and to mystical poetry relating to the doctrinal meaning of the term sulook.
Khmer shadow theatre are forms of shadow play in which leather shadow puppets are used. The two main genres are Sbek Thom, which features the Reamker, and Sbek Toch, which uses smaller puppets and a wide range of stories. Another genre called Sbek Por uses colored leather puppets. The shadow plays of Cambodia are closely related to and also resemble the shadow plays of Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia (Wayang kulit).In Cambodia, the shadow play is called Nang Sbek Thom, or simply as Sbek Thom, Sbek Touch and Sbek Por.
The Malay gamelan is a style of music originated from Indonesia, performed in Malay-populated regions of Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
Asep Sunandar Sunarya was a Sundanese wayang golek dalang. He was one of the most famous puppeteers in the genre.
Wayang kulit is a traditional form of puppet-shadow play originally found in the cultures of Java, Bali, and Lombok in Indonesia. In a wayang kulit performance, the puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil light. The dalang manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. The narratives of wayang kulit often have to do with the major theme of good vs. evil.
Bambangan Cakil is a classical dance-drama of Javanese people in—particularly—Central Java, Indonesia. This dance-drama is demonstrates wayang performance due to the movement is adopted from one of the scenes in wayang kulit performance, that is the Perang Kembang scene. The Perang Kembang told about war between kesatria against raksasa. The kesatria has soft and gentle-characters, while the raksasa described as character who is rough and violent.
Indonesian theatre is a type of art in the form of drama performances that are staged on a stage, with a distinct Indonesian nuance or background. In general, theatre is an art that emphasizes the performing arts that are displayed in front of a large crowd. In other words, theater is a form of visualisation of a drama that is staged on the stage and watched by the audience. Indonesian theatre includes the performing arts of traditional theater and modern theatre located in the territory of Indonesia. Some examples of Indonesian theater are Arja, Wayang, Wayang wong, Lenong, Ludruk, Janger and others. Theatre in Indonesia can also be referred to as regional or ethnic theatre, because it originates and develops from 1,300 ethnic cultures in Indonesia.
