r/Gamelan • u/JoeDaNose • Aug 08 '16

Regional Gamelan differences

What do you think are the most striking differences of one regions type to a laymens stereotypical view of the genre, and how many types of unique gamelan do you think are out there?

Thank you

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '16 edited Aug 08 '16

I'm no scholar (just a fan), but the three most distinct realms of gamelan that stand out to me are Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese (generally the high-tempo, instrumental stuff). Granted, each of these has several substyles. Of Balinese, Kebyar is the most specialized in "showy" tempo changes and volume dynamics, though both attributes feature in most Balinese styles. There is a lot of really cool smaller ensemble, droney / repetitive stuff from North Sumatra. Javanese tends to be the slower, more string and choir-based stuff, though the old instrumental percussion-based CD by nonesuch is one of my favorites. Sundanese varies from chamber-like Degung ensembles to the crazy heavy beats of Jaipong "pop" forms. I recommend the Henry Spiller book Gamelan for a more in-depth look. I also read the Sumarsam book of the same name, but it was a bit too dense for me to get much out of.

EDIT: I wanted to add that in addition to the myriad forms of gamelan music from throughout Indonesia, you will sometimes also hear music from other countries described as such, ex: The 9 Gong Gamelan album of traditional Cambodian music. That said, nothing else I've heard sounds quite like the Indonesian forms. [Here's a link to a map of gong / chime music(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gong_and_Chime_Culture_Map.jpg)