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Gamelan Naga Mas
LINKS TO GAMELAN PAGES
in contemporary world culture
NEED TO KNOW?
The instruments of the Indonesian gamelan provide a special way to look at world
culture, allowing insights into the music typical of South East Asian cultures,
and into old-growth music in general. The gamelan workshop generates a great
deal of practical musical knowledge for the student. Through hands-on
experiences with this music, participants easily find an enhancement in
learning music principles of their own culture.
The instruments are ornately crafted and tuned specifically within each
ensemble. Because the instruments are often tuned differently from western
scales, the gamelan is a special resource for composers to work with. Nowhere
else than within the gamelan are such combinations of metal-based tonality to
be found.
Through the hands-on understanding of gamelan music, all of this uniqueness is
passed on to the student .
GAMELAN NAGA MAS
photo: Andrew McDermot
GAMELAN IN SCOTLAND
The group GAMELAN NAGA MAS are located in Glasgow and provide a resource centre for music of the Indonesian gamelan. They develop unique community based music workshops and performances
for all ages and abilities. Practical workshops
offer experiences that help participants learn to play the unique instruments of the gamelan. As a Scottish ensemble, their music explores ideas from a
range of traditions, Gaelic, Indonesian as well as contemporary western music.
Composers Jon Keliehor, J. Simon van der Walt, Katherine Waumsley, Margaret
Smith, Barnaby Brown and Alan Govan currently create new works for the group.
Here are a few essential facts or ideas about gamelan:
Gamelan is a highly accessible music activity, valuable for all age groups and
capable of stimulating pupils interests in standard music studies. An
introduction to gamelan music can be presented as a one-off experience, or as a
series of ongoing sessions that develop deeper levels of musicality.
The gamelan orchestra is predominately a percussion orchestra of hand-forged
metal instruments consisting of chimes, metalophones and gongs. A traditional gamelan ensemble can vary in size from 6 to 30 musicians, and can
include a range of soft instruments including strings, flutes and voice.
Gamelan developed out of several principle Indonesian regions namely Java,
Sunda, Cirebon, Madura and Bali, but the instruments occur throughout SE Asia
and Asia in many different variations. With the emergence of the gamelan in the
UK, a large range of new musical possibilities have become available to the
western musician both in terms of education and performance.
Since the late 1800’s gamelan has been studied and adopted by musicians, ethnomusicologists, and
sociologists throughout the world. The music has been imported and exported, collected and recorded by
entrepreneurs and record companies. Margaret Meade, Colin McPhee, Jaap Kunst,
Mantle Hood, Michael Tenzer and many others have made pioneering studies of the
music and culture. Claude Debussy, Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, John Cage,
Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, Benjamin Britten and countless others have brought
it’s influences into their art.
This site provides music samples to help describe various new approaches to
gamelan music, and to demonstrate the sound of these unique instruments.
Follow these links to hear samples of
Contact: Gamelan Naga Mas
Email: info @nagamas.co.uk
Web: http://nagamas.co.uk
