Gamelan music information: (collected from the Internet)

Gamelan is a national band that is popular among Indonesian people, and the music it plays is also called gamelan. The gamelan band and its music were formed around the 15th century and have a history of 500 years. It is deeply rooted in the soil of Indonesia and has a deep foundation among the people. According to statistics in the 1920s, there were 20,000 gamelan bands on the island of Java alone.

There are many types of musical instruments in the Gamelan band, which can be roughly divided into: percussion instruments that play the melody: "Bonan", "Sharon", "Gendel", "Ganbang" and those that control the rhythm. Percussion instruments: "gendang", "gang" and "kenong". And other orchestral instruments: "Su Ling", "Labab", "Gezhabi", etc.

Gamelan is a kind of polyphonic music composed of a variety of musical instruments and human voices. It is neither unison nor European harmony or counterpoint. Its musical texture is complex and intertwined, and its performance also has a certain degree of improvisation, that is, improvisation is performed on the basis of the core melody. Gamelan music is very rich and it is an artistic treasure of Indonesia. The timbres are very diverse: crisp bamboo plates and loud metal plates, loud trebles and deep basses, deep drums and soft flutes, majestic gongs and slender female voices singing in unison... These form a sharp contrast. Enables people to depict a variety of tones and changes in the audio palette. In addition, the gamelan band also has great changes in intensity when playing. Some people think that the gamelan band is no less than a modern orchestra in terms of the range of volume changes. Sometimes, music comes suddenly like a storm, shaking the earth, but often it turns into a gentle caress in an instant, delicate and gentle, and very peaceful.

Indonesian gamelan music can be found all over the country, and it has a wide range of uses. It is often used to accompany dance, drama, and shadow puppet shows, and is played alone during breaks. In the past, it was often used in various religious ceremonies. Played to greet distinguished guests and hold cremations. There are also different styles of gamelan in various places. The most representative one is the Balinese gamelan music that believes in Hinduism. It is full of life, lively and cheerful. Due to the influence of the court, Javanese gamelan music appears elegant and quiet.

Indonesia’s kecak dance and chorus are also very exciting. Kerchak originated from an exorcism ritual with a witchcraft nature. One hundred to two hundred bare-chested men form a circle, with a bright bonfire lit in the center of the circle. They use very rhythmic Strong shouts accompany the exorcism dance. This form of chorus is often combined with dance dramas that express the story of Ramayana, and is accompanied by a gamelan band, becoming an art of comprehensive music, dance and drama. It was called "tjak" because of the constant shouting of the word "tjak" in the chorus. Men participating in this kind of performance are generally divided into 5 groups. One group repeats the roar of "Pung, Peng..." (Pung Pung) with a fixed beat, and the other 4 groups use their voices in different rhythms. The mosaic and overlapping technology shouts "Chuck, Chuck", thus forming a continuous, mysterious and majestic rhythmic sound, which is highly contagious.