Balinese gamelan music is seldom notated. Therefore, gamelan
musicians almost never learn music from a score as one does
in the western tradition. As with a great deal of traditional
oriental music, gamelan is learnt by rote, passed on from
guru to student. Generally, at a practice a new piece is taught
in short phrases by one guru and one or two assistants. The
opening phrase is first taught to the lead musician and he
in turn does his utmost to mimick it. Once he’s capably
remembered the phrase, it is repeated over and over until
it is “etched in his soul”. Then the other parts,
such as the rhythmic fill-in patterns (kotekan) and the drum
parts are added. Finally, the teacher will pay attention to
the punctuating instruments, in particular the gong. Only
when these parts fit together perfectly will the group move
on to the next phrase, and so forth until the entire piece
is memorized.
Obviously, a guru and the his assistants must be skillful
players of all the instruments in the gamelan orchestra he
is teaching, as well as have a sound knowledge of composition.
With up to twenty different parts to teach, a gamelan guru
must be a disciplined and extremely patient individual.
Some of the instruments in an ensemble are very specialist;
therefore the parts may require practice at home, perhaps
with a friend or playing along to a cassette recording. Other
technically simpler ones, such as the gong, are learnt on
the spot at practices. Before the onset of tourism, musicians
would farm by day and practise gamelan by night, every night
of the week. Today, with people working in the tourist industry,
maintaining busier and more material-driven lifestyles, musicians
don’t have regular practices, unless it is for an upcoming
festival or an overseas tour. This lack of practice means
that, unless it is notated or recorded, a large amount of
traditional repertoire will fast disappear.
Copyright@ Kulture Kid 2006
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