Bali is one of 17000 islands which make up the Indonesian archipelago and is located between the larger islands of Java and Lombok (E-Lr, 2015). The music of Bali was described by the American composer Colin McPhee as the “stirring mystery of a thousand bells” (Gordon, 1994). “Balinese music is most often characterised by its bright, metallic, percussive qualities, it’s distinctive and complex tuning, the rich layering of instruments and its cyclical form” (Native Instruments, 2015). In Bali, music and dance are essential components of all elements of their society, and their wide range of orchestras are designed to suit both religious and secular events (Suadin, 2015). The most common Balinese styles of gamelan include Gamelan Kecak, Gong Kebyar and Gender Wayang. These styles accompany to rich and complex textures in an exquisite form.
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Balinese gamelan orchestras consist of a combination of aerophones, idiophones, metallophones, membranophones and chordophones, which each are beautifully crafted in incredible detail (Ziporyn, 2001). Important aspects of gamelan performance practice include the tuning system (laras) and modal classification (pathet). The number of performers in the orchestra ranges from a few players to large orchestra of several dozens of performers. Balinese gamelan’s main purpose is to serve religious beliefs, accompany dances and wayang theatres, and provide entertainment and musical connections for the villages within Bali (Ziporyn, 2001).
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