Gamelan :D

Today, we had our Gamelan class at the Observatory. It was not necessarily what I expected, and at times it was almost uncomfortable [sitting cross legged on the floor for an hour and a half made my feet go to sleep lol - I must have looked very funny when I got up at the end of it lol], but I really enjoyed it.


We played a few different pieces, using all the instruments within the set, and the man told us a bit about the history of Gamelan. Eg, that it originates in Java; that the set is believed to have a soul and the main gong is the keeper of the soul; all the music is cyclical and the gong is played to mark the start of the circle; they count down, rather than up, when starting a piece, because you are counting towards the gong [not away from it]. :)

I played a Puleg first. Then the saron. And, finally, a gendèr.

It was really good fun, even if we did get lost a couple of times.
One of the patterns [for the saron and gendèr] was notes: 3535 2525 3535 2525 6767 5757 6767 5757 2376 5723 [and repeat]. It was quite easy to get lost lol, until you got into the routine, especially as we had to 'silence' the previous note, whilst playing the next. It was a bit like rubbing your belly and tapping your head lol. It sounded pretty good though. :D

It was a nice way to finish. That session [which went onto include some work, with the usual music tutor Sue, on African tribal chanting and dancing] marked the final 'foundation' session of the course. Scary stuff! Eck.