Gamelan and West African music Flashcards
where does gamelan originate?
Indonesia
what does the word ‘gamelan’ refer to?
the group of instruments and the style of music
what does gamelan traditionally accompany?
worship and theatre, particularly puppet theatre
gamelan is considered…
sacred
players must..
take off their shoes to play and are not allowed to step over the instruments; this is seen as breaking the connection between the gamelan and God
name an instrument used in gamelan
gongs, metallophones, kendang (drum)
name the three melodies used in gamelan
the core, kenong, and peking
gamelan music is built on…
repeating patterns of notes called ostinati (singular: ostinato)
drumming is..
an important form of music-making in West Africa
drumming often accompanies…
ritual dances such as births, weddings, funerals, or communication between villages
types of african drums include..
djembe and the talking drum
what can the talking drum do?
it can make a very wide variety of sounds, allowing it to mimic the sound of human speech
what does both gamelan and african drumming feature?
a master drummer, the pentatonic scale, heterophony, call and response, and the passing on in the oral tradition
what does the master drummer do?
they are in charge of the structure of the music
what is the pentatonic scale?
a scale of 5 notes
what is heterophony?
the simultaneous playing or singing of two or more versions of the same melody
describe call and resonse
a leader sings/plays a phrase, and a group of singers/players responds with the same phrase or an answering phrase
what does ‘the passing on in the oral tradition’ mean?
that the music is not written down - rather, the music is passed from generation to generation through verbal teaching and demonstration
