Music in Central Java

By Benjamin Brinner. Part of the Global Music Series which is an introduction to world music that focuses on how people make music meaningful and useful in their lives.This book introduces the region's musical and cultural landscape, showing how 3 themes - flexibility, appropriateness, and interconnectedness - characterize Javanese musical practices and traditions. Gamelan music is studied in depth. Both the theatrical and musical aspects of shadow-puppet plays are examined as well as other music found in Central Java. Music in Central Java also provides a portrait of a leading Javenese musician, traces musical responses to radical social, political, and cultural changes over the past century and considers Javanese music in relation to Indonesia and the rest of the world.Eyewitness accounts of performances, interviews with key performers, illustrations and hands-on listening activiites are included. An enclosed 78-minute audio CD contains examples of the music discussed in the book.192 pages.Contents:Foreword, Preface, CD Track List.1. First Hearings(includes What Is a Gamelan?)2. A Sense of TimeMaking and Marking Musical Time: Gongs and DrumsDrummingGongs, Drums, and the Flexibility of Time3. Gamelan, Tuning, and Instrumental Melody4. Songs, Singers, and Gamelan5. Melodic Elaboration and Training in the Arts6. Shadows and Tales7. Music for Motion and Emotion - Wayang Kulit8. Java and BeyondGlossary, References, Resources, Index.