How are Balinese gamelan instruments tuned? Part I

One of the most unique things about Balinese gamelan is that no two sets can ever have exactly the same tuning. This is due to the fact that as bronze is repeatedly hit, the molecules in a bronze alloy condense and the sound produced changes over time. Smiths also claim that the pitch is affected by temperature and humidity.
 
Years ago, gamelan tuners were almost always bronze smiths descended from the smith clan known as Pande. These days, however, this is not always the case; in fact some of the best tuners on the island are non-Pande, self-taught enthusiasts. As bronze is a metal alloy, hence in the Balinese world view magically charged, any gamelan tuner is a revered member of society.
 
A full gamelan set may consist of up to thirty-five instruments, many with ten keys or more, meaning that creating a collective tuning is no mean feat. Impressively, gamelan tuners rely solely on their ears to tune, although as a reference point to the desired four, five or seven tone scale, bamboo tuning sticks called petuding may be used. The desired tuning is either specifically requested by the owner of the gamelan or simply left up to the good judgment of the tuner. If the gamelan is newly ordered, this must be decided upon before the metals are weighed. Generally, for a higher pitched instrument, the keys or pots will be thicker, narrower and shorter and the lower pitched ones correspondingly thinner, wider and longer. This means that less or more metal may be needed depending on the tuning.
 
Traditionally, gong smiths would refer to tunings in romantic terms: “the sea of honey” or “the fragrant sandat flower” being real acoustic possibilities. In the 21st century, however, tunings are often copied from popular or prize-winning gamelan sets, such as the “STSI (arts academy) tuning” or even the “Tri Sandya” tuning (heard played every day on Bali TV)!
 
In the next edition of Kulture Kid I’ll explain in everyday terms the physical process of tuning an entire gamelan ensemble.
 
Copyright@ Kulture Kid 2006
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