Gamelan degung is a form of Sundanese musical ensemble that uses a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of degung scale. The instruments are manufactured under local conditions in towns in West Java such as Bogor and Bandung.Retno K. Djojo, "For the love of music", The Jakarta Post, 29 January 2010. Degung music is often played at public gatherings in West Java, such as at local elections, as well as many other events.Theresia Sufa, "Sundanese music and dance liven election day in Bogor", The Jakarta Post, 26 October 2008. There is international interest in degung as well among communities in other countries interested in Indonesian and gamelan music.Dewi Anggraeni, "Melbourne: Gamelan, elephants and 'Jackpot'", , The Jakarta Post, 22 February 2004.
Gamelan degung is also playable in madenda scale, which is included in the set as a complementary tone, usually marked as a -3/ni tone in the set. Playing gamelan degung in this scale requires the substitution of the 3/na metal bars into -3/ni tones on all instruments.
Gamelan tuning use its da/1 note as the reference. The tuning of a degung set should match with common suling tunings. A suling usually sold based on the length of the tube, such as 56 cm, 54 cm, etc. Shorter tube has higher base note. A 56 cm suling corresponds with da/1≈G.
+degung and madenda scale comparisonDegung54321Madenda54 -321readinglatinanimidasurupan 56BCDEF#Gsurupan 54A#BC#D#E#F#surupan 52ABbCDEF
Instruments The instrumentation of gamelan degung is quite flexible. It may include:
bonang/kolènang: two rows of seven small bulbous gongs. It differs from its Javanese counterpart in that the rows are each placed on either side of the player. saron/peking: a high-pitched bronze metallophone with fourteen keys. Usually, there are two sarons in a single set. panerus: another bronze metallophone, similar to the peking but pitched an octave lower. jengglong: six bulbous gongs suspended from the same frame. Could be played like bonang, or hanged. goong ageung: a large gong. pancer: a smaller gong, secondary gong. A set of kendang, consisting of one large (kendang indung) and two small double-sided drums (kulantér). suling degung: a four-holed bamboo flute. suling kawih: a six-holed bamboo flute, interchangeably used with suling degung gambang: a wooden xylophone. kacapi: a zither.
In classical degung, the bonang serves as a conductor for the whole ensemble. Except in certain modern compositions, it is rarely absent.
Gallery
See also
Gong gede
References