Discuss the tuning and scale system of traditional Javanese music, including how the Javanese system differs from the Western scale system
What will be an ideal response?
• In the Western system, the octave is divided into twelve equal half steps. The Western scale system uses a "tempered" scale which makes every half-step sound exactly the same musical distance apart. The Western scale is also standardized so that the A above middle C is always exactly 440 c.p.s. All musicians in the Western music-culture have to tune their instruments to this fixed standard in order to play in tune with each other in various musical ensembles.
• In traditional Javanese gamelan ensembles, the instruments are all carefully tuned to each other within a particular ensemble, but are not necessarily in tune with instruments from other gamelan ensembles.
• The octave in the Javanese scale system is either divided equally into five tones (sléndro) or divided into a seven-toned scale of unequal intervals (pélog). Neither of these scale systems matches the tones of the Western scale system.
You might also like to view...
Which of the following differentiates Georges Seurat from Impressionism?
a. the subjects he chooses b. the bright colors c. the formal geometry of the composition d. the lack of glazing and blending
The "second practice" of music, as identified by Monteverdi, is described by all of the following except that
A. it is often used in secular music. B. the texture is usually homophonic. C. it uses dissonance expressively. D. music dominates the text.