There are a variety of music forms in Indonesia. In the long process of historical development, Indonesia has been in political and economic development with China, India, Arab countries and other countries. There are relatively close exchanges in many aspects such as music culture. After becoming a Dutch colony, Dutch music culture penetrated and integrated into Indonesian culture. In addition, Indonesia itself is a multi-ethnic and multi-island country. Various historical reasons and cultural backgrounds have made Indonesian music culture evolve into the diverse situation it is today. When people think of Indonesian music, they will quickly think of (Solo River), "Ouch, Mom", "Look in the Mirror", "Stars" and other beautiful and beautiful songs full of tropical ethnic customs.

There are a variety of music forms in Indonesia. In the long process of historical development, Indonesia has had relatively close exchanges with China, India, Arab countries and other countries in politics, economy, music culture and many other aspects. After becoming a Dutch colony, Dutch music culture penetrated and integrated into Indonesian culture. In addition, Indonesia itself is a multi-ethnic and multi-island country. Various historical reasons and cultural backgrounds have made Indonesian music culture evolve into the diverse situation it is today.

When it comes to Indonesian music, people will quickly think of beautiful and beautiful songs full of tropical ethnic customs such as "Solo River", "Ouch, Mom", "Look in the Mirror", and "Stars". However, this is only a part of Indonesian music, and the most representative type of music that best embodies the characteristics of Indonesian traditional music culture and has the greatest influence in the world is Gamelan music, which was originated from Central Java and popular in A kind of music throughout Java and Bali.

Gamelan - Javanese mainly refers to ensemble music based on percussion, but also generally refers to all ensemble music and the bands that play this music. Gamelan has a long history. As early as the 8th century AD, some of the musical instruments used by gamelan bands were engraved on the reliefs of Buddhist temples. By the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 16th century during the Matabashay Dynasty in Indonesia, the instruments of the large-scale gamelan band were basically ready, and they were divided into indoor and outdoor instrument combinations. In the Mataram Dynasty after the 16th century, the two gradually unified and formed a large-scale gamelan band. Its music was used as an accompaniment for drama, dance, and shadow play, as well as in various religious ceremonies. . There are many gamelan bands in Java and Bali, especially the spontaneous gamelan bands among the people. They can be seen everywhere. Now they have become not only a symbol of Indonesia’s traditional music culture, but also a window for people around the world to understand Indonesian music.

The earliest musical instrument in the gamelan band is the gong, and its number has gradually developed from a single to multiple. Now the musical instruments of the band have the following four categories. The first category: gongs are musical instruments, including large hanging gongs, medium gongs, and gongs. Hanging gong, small hanging gong, big cauldron gong, row gong. Category 2: Panqin is a musical instrument, including xylophone, boombox, and metal panqin. Category 3: Orchestral instruments, including Lebabu (the only bowed instrument in the Gamelan band), Chelianpeng (plucked string instruments), and recorder (wind instruments). Category 4: Drum instruments. Gamelan bands use double-sided long drums. Big bands usually have two drums, a small one and a small drum. The sound of the small drum is heavier than that of the big drum. The big drum is male and plays the lead role, and the small drum is female. Act as an assistant.

Among the above 13 kinds of musical instruments, the first five in the first category are rhythmic instruments, which are used to divide the sentences in the ensemble. The sixth musical instrument in the first category and the second and third categories All the instruments in it are melodic instruments. The above instruments are necessary instruments for large gamelan bands. In addition, some big bands and folk bands occasionally add some supporting instruments, such as various bells, cymbals, bamboo or metal beat boards, etc. However, these The presence or absence of supporting instruments has no major impact on the composition of the ensemble. In some small rural bands, the organization is more casual, but gongs and metal harps are indispensable.

In the music played by the gamelan band, there is a chorus of female or male voices. Their singing is soft and light, and blends naturally with the sounds of various musical instruments, which is intoxicating.

Gamelan music is a kind of multi-vocal music. Anyone who has listened to gamelan music will have the feeling that gamelan music is both complex and simple. It is complex because it has multiple layers of sound, multiple independent melody lines and various interlaced and orderly rhythms. It is different from the main harmony music and polyphonic music in Western music, and it is also different from the unison singing and unison music in Eastern countries. Branch music derived from it. It’s simple because the core melody of a grown-up piece of music seems to be fixed, repeating itself over and over again, as if it has a beginning and no end.

Gamelan music uses two different scales, and each scale has three types of "patete" (partite contains many meanings such as mode, range, melody type, etc.), see the table below:< /p>

Different patettes express different specific contents and are related to time (that is, the performance time is constrained). For example, the music of Patet "Nem" mostly expresses happy emotions and is played from 9 to 12 o'clock in the evening. In this regard it has similarities with the Indian "Raga" theory of time. Many Western scholars have studied these two scales in gamelan music in the past hundred years, but the results are inconsistent.

The musical form structure of gamelan music is cyclical. Each musical section can be repeated continuously. The sound of the big gong marks the end of the previous cyclic section and the beginning of the next one. The drummer of the band seems to He has the role of a conductor. Without his hint of changing the passage, the passage will continue to cycle endlessly. This feature is related to the concept of "reincarnation" in Indonesian religion.

In addition, gamelan music uses a multiple of 2 beats. Each gamelan music has an overture, which shows the central content of the music and has a certain degree of improvisation. The length of the overture is not specified. , can be long or short. Usually Javanese gamelan has a short prelude, while Bali's gamelan is longer.

Gamelan music is deeply loved by people from all walks of life in Indonesia. It is a kind of music generally accepted by the court nobles and common people, especially among the people. It is an indispensable part of the daily life of village residents. The emergence and development of dance are closely linked to social life. It is an art that develops side by side with drama and dance. It is suitable for various ceremonies and rituals to show its majesty and power, and has a profound impact on religion.

Gamelan music is popular throughout Indonesia. Since gamelan music originated in Central Java, what we have described above are mainly gamelan music from Central Java. Gamelan music from other regions The music structure, scale, etc. are generally the same as those of Central Java Gamelan, but each region has its own unique color in terms of band organization, playing style and playing techniques. In gamelan music, the most representative ones are Java and Bali. However, there are also differences in the gamelan music of the two islands.

Balinese music is bold, passionate, and sometimes almost brutal. The contrast between the speed and intensity of the gamelan band's performance is very strong. The music changes suddenly between fast, slow, strong and weak, sometimes like a violent storm, and sometimes it clears up after the rain. The music progress is very dramatic. Its gamelan bands are dominated by metal or bamboo percussion instruments, and some bands don't even have orchestral instruments, and if they do, their acoustics are inconspicuous in the ensemble. Many of the band's instruments are used in pairs, and the two identical instruments have slightly different tunings. When played together, the sound vibrates and the timbre becomes more varied. The music played by this kind of band is very loud and sounds quite gorgeous and brilliant. Its gamelan music mostly uses the method of mosaic and overlapping of voices to form a melody, and the Pelog scale is often used. Usually the rhythm is fast and the style is rough and lively. Its drama themes mostly come from folk stories, and its music is rooted in people's lives. The music of Java Island is elegant and elegant, almost monotonous and plain. Gamelan bands in Java also use percussion instruments as the mainstay, but orchestral instruments play a larger role than those in Bali. The counterpoint layer of orchestral performance plays an extremely prominent role in the ensemble layer. Some music also uses orchestral instruments. The solo is the introduction, so the whole music sounds soft and delicate. Because it originated from the palace and has a strong religious overtone, its creative style is elegant and slender. The scales mostly use the Sri Lankan scale, and the rhythm is relatively slow. Its dramas are mostly based on the Indian epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramana". The story of "Mayana" is the theme and is deeply loved by the people.

The reasons for the differences in music between Java and Bali are related to many factors such as social, economic, cultural and religious factors. Javanese society has gone through a long feudal system. Among them, the gamelan band of Central Java was cultivated in the court of the Sultan. Although it has been spread among the people for hundreds of years, it still has the characteristics of court music in essence. The form is also relatively complete and standardized. When Bali became independent from Indonesia, it was still a society of village collective ownership. Village residents invariably participated in various folk festivals and religious activities. Therefore, the performance of gamelan music must have the characteristics of village community culture and have a collective character. The spirit of ism and the style of folk art. The Javanese people believe in Islam, and although the canon has not hindered the development of their art, it has affected its style to some extent. The Balinese believe in Hinduism and admire art, which may be the reason for the free development of their unrestrained and lively style.

The gamelan music of Java and Bali is not only deeply loved by the Indonesian people, but is also gradually being recognized by people around the world. Since the early 19th century, some Western music scholars have begun to study gamelan music. In Europe and Japan, gamelan music has become one of the most important research fields of ethnomusicology. Some Indonesian art groups have also gone abroad to participate in "Oriental Art Festivals" held in various countries, performing gamelan music, showing their beautiful sounds and unique musical instruments to the people of the world. Gamelan music - this unique Indonesian music , not only made a huge contribution to the development history of Indonesian national music and art, but also opened a transparent window for people around the world to understand Indonesia's traditional music culture.