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Sekolah Rumah (Home School!)

Crukcuk Punyah, lessons

3/4/2020

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Lesson 1 - POKOK tones and JUBLAG
My favourite tune for welcoming new players to sit down and begin playing immediately. Starting on JUBLAG (which has only 5 keys: I O E U A) the POKOK (literally 'trunk', meaning core melodic tones) is just OOOEOEOA repeated many times. Eventually we slow down to part 2 and change that last 'up a jump' (A)* to 'down a step' (I). Then we move the whole sequence one step to the right, and then up one step to the right again.
OOOEOEOI, EEEUEUEO, UUUAUAUE
Repeat a lot, then speed up for part 3 and keep repeating. That's it for JUBLAG.

*GANGSA actually goes 'down a skip' to (A) but JUBLAG don't have a low (A) so they play a high one!
Lesson 2 - NOROT and NOLTOL for POLOS
Next step is trying it on GANGSA as per the video below. The technique with gaps in it is called NOROT, which appears in many tunes. This involves POLOS playing the POKOK tone repeatedly, leaving spaces for the SANGSIH to play one note higher in their gaps. When it slows down the technique is called NOLTOL, with POLOS now playing both notes of the pattern.
Lesson 3 - ANGSELS.
Simple, regular ANGSELS are triggered by loud KENDANG (drum) grooves. No new material added to create these breaks, just leave some notes out of your regular pattern and adjust the volume.
Lesson 4 - NYOG CAG and 'LUANGAN'
More complicated ANGSELS, as in lesson 4, are not improvised but an option which each group decides to include ahead of time. Once you have your head around the NYONG CAG (leap-frog style) it can be played quite fast for an impressive interlocking effect. Similarly impressive is the (what I call) 'LUANGAN' decoration in the slow movement* as it sound far more twisty and ever-changing than it really is 'on paper'. Not that we put it on paper, but even as I was figuring this one out, searching for repetitive sequences, it fooled me for a bit because of the note we play after the JUBLAG tone.

I use the word NGUBENG for the stationary patterns in NYOG CAG and 'LUANGAN' but fail to mention MAJALAN (JALAN = road) for the moving sequences.

*Slow section in this instrumental style of composition should be referred to as PENADENG ('slow thing') rather than PENGAWAK as I state in the video. Oops.
Lesson 5 - SANGSIH
And a quick run through of all the SANGSIH parts. Much of it is simply NGEMPAT (up a 4th from the POLOS note) but both NOROT (the one with gaps) and NYOG CAG (leap-frogging) require explanation.
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    jeremy is trying to find pockets of time in his home-shool parenting to make DIY gamelan lessons for you to follow.

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  • Lessons
  • About
    • GDA
    • What is Gamelan
    • Musical Director
  • Ensembles
    • Gong Kebyar
    • Selunding
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