GAMELAN

Process of Making Gamelan

            Bali has a great diversity of gamelan instruments. The purpose of gamelan instruments are to serve religious belief, convoying dance, or wayang theaters. There is a place in Bali that  is famous by the production of gamelan, that is Tihingan village. In Tihingan village we can see the process of making Gamelan, and here are some steps how to make gamelan

The production of gamelan starts from smelting the materials. The materials are filigree or brass and lead. Then all of those materials are melted until become liquid and those liquids formed using printer or well-know as “laklakan”. 

The next process are:

Ø  NAPNAP ( CONTOURING THE SHAPE)

This step aims to create the both slides of laklakan by using hammer

Ø  NGESONGIN (FILLING THE HOLES)

Ngesongin means create a hole on the gamelan, every gamelan filled two holes that the position is on the quarter point from the length

Ø  NGELARASIN (TONE ALIGNMENT)

In this step, the craffsmen usually do the cleaning step, and rarefaction process on the sides while doing tone alignment by using hammer in this step, depend to the hearing sensitivity called “maguru kuping” that accompanied with the ability of feeling for the tone alignment

The Structure of Gamelan Representing The Structure
Balinese Village
A complete set of gambelan called one barung. It is consist of instruments which is representing the
traditional structure of Balinese village or oganization, such as : 


Trempong an Ugal



Trempong
an Ugal, represent the leader of the village, it is means to handle the
organization. As its function in gamelan music instruments to begin and end the
song.



Kendang



Kendang,
represents the undersecretary who is firm and wise, because in gamelan music
instrument Kendang could lead the songs an accompanied by the Trempong.



Gangsa



Gangsa,
represents the family household who gave the village life by having kids, in
gamelan music instrument Gangsa brings the rhythm of the song which the crucial
part of the song.



Kantil



Kantil,
represents the member of the village and makes the village to be unique for its
diversity, in gamelan music instrument Kantil makes the song more unique
because it produced a little and sweet voices.



Penyacah,
Jublag, Jegog



Penyacah,
Jublag, and Jegog, represent the way of villageers make the people to come their
village or how the villagers attract others to visit their village, in gamelan
music instrument three of these instruments is for smoothing the song with
echoes and the tone is so beautiful.



Riong



Riong,
represents the youth organization of the village, in gamelan music instrument Riong
brings the melody and giving up and down tone showing the psychology of youth
itself.



Gong,
Kempur, and Bende



Gong,
kempur, and bende, represent the women in the village who participating in improving
the village by conducting the ritual and ceremony in the village, in gamelan
music instrument all of these three is the most important thing to start and
end the song.



Kempluk



Kempluk,
represents the adviser of the village, the one who makes sure that the village stays
in a good way, in gamelan music instrument Kempluk as the one who determine the
run of the song well.