Geographical and

Cultural Background
LEARNING TARGETS:
• LISTEN PERCEPTIVELY TO MUSIC OF SOUTHEAST ASIA;
• ANALYSE MUSICAL ELEMENTS OF SELECTED SONGS AND
INSTRUMENTAL PIECES HEARD AND PERFORMED;

• EXPLORE WAYS OF PRODUCING SOUNDS ON A VARIETY OF

SOURCES THAT WOULD SIMULATE INSTRUMENTS BEING
STUDIED;

• IMPROVISE SIMPLE ACCOMPANIMENT TO SELECTED

SOUTHEAST ASIAN MUSIC;

• PERFORM MUSIC FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA WITH OWN

ACCOMPANIMENT.

• EVALUATE MUSIC AND MUSIC PERFORMANCES APPLYING

KNOWLEDGE OF MUSICAL ELEMENTS AND STYLES.
Indonesia Thailand

Southeast
Asia

Myanmar Cambodia
Music is the sweetest means of
communicating. It expresses
whatever emotion an individual
wants to convey.
To appreciate music to the fullest, you
have to brush-up on its elements.
Elements create music the way it is
intended to be. All kinds of music are
distinguished by the elements that
characterize each.
 Music
It is always a part of the world of sounds. It is an
art based on the organization of sounds in time.
Music can be distinguished from other sounds by
recognizing the four main properties of musical
sounds. These are dynamics (loudness or
softness), rhythm (duration), pitch (highness or
lowness), and tone color (quality or timbre).
 Pitch
It is the relative highness or lowness heard
in a sound. It is decided by the frequency of
the vibration that is their speed, which is
measured in cycles per second. The faster
the vibration, the higher the pitch, lower
pitch is produced by slower vibration.
Dynamics
It pertains to the loudness or softness in
music. A tone can be emphasized by a
performer by playing it more loudly than the
tones around it. This is called a dynamic
accent. Most often, changes of dynamics are
inspired by the performer’s feelings.
 Tone
It also called timbre, is described by
words like bright, dark, mellow,
brilliant, and rich. Changes in tone
color create contrast and variety.
 Rhythm
It is the recurring pattern of tension
and release, expectation and
fulfillment. Rhythm has interrelated
aspects which considered as beat,
meter, accent and syncopation, and
tempo.
 Meter
It is pertains to the organization of beats
into regular groups. A fixed number of
beats in a group is called measure. The
stressed or first beat of a measure is the
downbeat. The type of meter depends upon
the number of beats in a measure.
If a measure has two beats, it is called
a duple meter. A pattern of three
beats to measure is known as triple
meter. A quadruple meter has four
beats to a measure.
Accent and syncopation refer to the way rhythm is
stressed.
• Accent is when a note is emphasized by holding it
longer or being higher than nearby notes. One way of
emphasizing a note is by giving it a dynamic accent.
• Syncopation is the effect of an accented note that
comes when it is not normally expected. A syncopation
happens when an “offbeat” note is accented (when
stress comes between beats).
• Tempo pertains to the speed of beat. It is
the basic pace of the music. Fast tempo is
associated with energy, excitement, and
drive. Slow tempo expresses solemnity,
calmness, or lyricism.
Indonesian
Music
Indonesia’s former name is
Dutch East Indies.
It has approximately 17,508
islands and Bali is its famous
island.
The capital city is Jakarta.
Indonesia is near to our
country.
The name Indonesia is derived
from the Latin and Greek
Indus, and the Greek “nesos”
meaning island.
Indonesian music may be
divided in two forms:

1.Vocal
2.Instrumental
1. Vocal – in the form of long
historical narratives, courting
and love songs, devotional praise
melodies and children’s song.
2. Instrumental
There are two predominant scales in
Traditional Indonesian Music, the
slendro and pelog scale. Each has a
unique character identified by the
intervallic relationships between notes.
Slendro is known as “male” tonal system.
It consists of five tones which has almost
similar intervals. It is also known as
pentatonic scale.

Pelog is considered the “female” tonal

system. It consists of five tones (minor
thirds) and three tones (whole intervals),
however, the sound is different from that
of slendro.
 Traditional Javanese legend tells that music began
when the Hindu god Siva ordered the making of genta
keleng formed of gongs to be used as signaling
instruments. This led to the creation of an ensemble of
metal percussion instruments known as the Javanese
gamelan.
What is Gamelan?

It is the traditional orchestra of

Indonesia. It is considered to be
an important part of the culture
and tradition of this country.
It is from Java and Gender Wayang from
Bali provide Indonesian traditional music.
They have another popular form of music
which is performed with freedance style
known as Dangdut. Aside from these are
other music forms such as Angklung and
Degung from West Java, Keroncong from
Portugal, and Sasando music from West
Timor.
The gamelan is an instrumental group
composed of percussion instruments
made of bamboo, bronze, and wood. It
performs often in feasts, puppetry,
rituals, and other celebrations
including ceremonies.
Their instruments differ in every region. The
kulintang from northern Sumatra and the
angklung sthat which is made of bamboo
that comes from western Java, are both very
popular Indonesian instruments. The batak
of northern Sumatra and ambones of Maluku
are known for their singing with guitar
accompaniment.