The gangsa (pictured above) is an important instrument in Bali Gamelan. It is played with a hammer which is why it is classified as part of a percussion ensemble (courtesy of Wikimedia commons).
Attending musical performances is an exciting way to get involved on campus, especially if there is an opportunity to learn more about different music styles of the world.
Adjunct Lecturer of Folk Guitar Ken Luk is bringing the Eastman School of Music Gamelan ensemble to Geneseo on Sunday Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. in the Doty Recital Hall. Luk is the instructor of the ensemble at Eastman.
Luk explained that Gamelan is both a musical style and what the ensemble is called. Eastman’s ensemble is the four-tone angklung. Gamelan is a traditional musical style from Indonesia.
“You can treat it as classical music from Indonesia,” Luk said. “It is used in a lot of ceremonies or even everyday events.”
There are many different styles of Gamelan, but the Eastman ensemble performs Balinese, which originated in Bali, Indonesia.
“There are different styles, but Bali is one of the most important ones,” Luk said.
Gamelan is very “village-based,” according to Luk. Since there are many styles, each ensemble fosters a sense of community.
“Each Gamelan—the whole ensemble—is tuned into the same tuning. So, you can’t really take one instrument and go to the next village to jam with your friends,” Luk said. “There’s a really big sense of community which is why I mention it’s used in ceremonies or everything that is related to the public.”
A Gamelan has many instruments, but there are several that are always present in a performance. There is the gangsa, which is kind of like the “violin family,” according to Luk.
“The gangsas have different sizes so they can cover different ranges. They usually tune an octave apart from each other,” Luk said. “The lower pitch gangas play the structure of the melody, and the higher pitch elaborate on the melody.”
Luk said Gamelan is “cyclical,” and the gong is a “symbolic” instrument for this purpose.
“It’s like the beginning and ending of the cycle,” Luk said. “Depending on the song we do because we don’t have a full ensemble, we have drummers which gives us the cue to move on to the next section.”
There is also the ketuk, a metronome-like instrument to keep the rhythmic music on beat.
“Each Gamelan ensemble has one person devoted to nothing but keeping a steady beat so everyone will know that’s where the beat is, and we can all fit together,” Luk said.
Luk said that the concert on Sunday will be an “informance” where the ensemble will teach students about Gamelan. The ensemble has performed concerts like this around the area in the past.
“We always try and let people try the instruments after the concert,” Luk said. “I thought, ‘hey, what a chance to hear something and even come bang on some instruments if you want to.’”
Eastman is not the only local Gamelan, according to Luk. Gamelan ensembles are common in different colleges throughout the country.
“Gamelan ensemble is quite prevalent and many universities across the United States,” Luk said. “If you go to grad school somewhere else, chances are there might be a Gamelan ensemble there playing.”
Studying different music styles such as Gamelan means a person should be “open and receptive,” according to Luk.
“Music is the least intrusive thing to learn about cultural wise,” Luk said. “But with music, even if you don’t understand the aesthetics you might be attracted by the excitement of how fast the music goes.”
Luk hopes that bringing Gamelan to Geneseo is “an opportunity for people to see something they might not have seen.”
To learn more about Gamelan and hear an incredible performance, attend the Gamelan Lila Muni concert on Sunday Feb. 23.