Judith Becker

Percussive Patterns in the Music of Mainland Southeast Asia

Since the publication of Music in Java (1949) by Jaap Kunst, the elaborate rhythmic organization of the Javanese gamelan is no longer in question, but published works on the music of mainland Southeast Asia do not indicate any of the rhythmic complexities of the gamelan and are uniformly transcribed in 2/4 or 4/4 time. Are we to assume a sharp break in the musical traditions of Indonesia and mainland Southeast Asia? Do the simple duple or quadruple meters found in the transcriptions of mainland Southeast Asian music encompass all that need be said concerning rhythmic organization? Or is there a higher level of rhythmic organization which has escaped the notice of most observers?

One Perspective on Gamelan in America

The gamelan in America, from its beginnings as an exotic foreigner, shows signs of becoming a naturalized citizen. There are now twenty or more Javanese (and additional Balinese) ensembles in America which regularly rehearse and perform and their number increases every year. Nearly all are supported by colleges and universities and only a handful have a Javanese teacher. The degree to which gamelan music becomes part of our total cultural inheritance does not, I believe, depend exclusively on the number of ensembles in America or the number of Americans

Book review: Music Asylums: Wellbeing through Music in Everyday Life:

are somewhat intertwined and partly exist in a state of conflict (pp. 3, 65). Viewed from this perspective, world families bring together elements of tradition and modernity, closeness and distance, the familiar and the strange, likeness and difference – combinations that link different eras, countries and continents and echo the turmoil of the globalized world in the intimate life (p. 65). The importance of some of the issues raised in this book is significant in two ways: namely, for how people are constructing and conducting their intimate lives in a global context, and the broader implications for socio-cultural change. These case studies provide some excellent material for class discussions. It makes a clear contribution through its focus upon the field’s inherent debates, which students may not access as readily in other materials. While investigating multicultural families may not be new, to my knowledge what is novel about this cosmopolitan approach is endeavouring to expand on the usual approach of looking one-dimensionally at how multicultural families adapt or incorporate the host nation’s (usually the Western) culture, or alternatively seek to maintain their country of origin’s cultural values, to an approach which considers how both these aspects play out and involve negotiation and/or come into conflict on a daily basis in the lives of world families. The chief strength of this book is to pave the way for further research into global intimate relations in a way that takes into account the struggle of world families who are confronted on a daily basis with a clash of love cultures (between the nation-state and country of origin) and the associated struggles of gender, wealth and power. Readers may find the volume of case studies overwhelming and observe that there often appear to be more questions raised than answered. However, I do not think this should be a criticism. Moreover, it is an invitation by the authors to open up research into the plethora of concerns surrounding personal relationships in a global age.

Western Influence in Gamelan Music

It is commonly assumed that there is no Western influence in gamelan music.1 When one compares gamelan music with Indonesian krontjong or other hybrid forms of mainland Southeast Asia, it does appear that gamelan music has kept free from Western influence. Only rarely does one hear Western pop tunes played by a gamelan. Western diatonic scales have not replaced slendro and pelog. Violins and saxophones do not substitute for traditional stringed or wind instruments. But the absence of obvious borrowings does not mean that the Western world has not had its impact on gamelan music. The word influence cannot be limited in interpretation to mean only simplistic adoption. Influence also includes the impact of technology and Western concepts.