Tuning in Gender Wayang : voices, concepts, and analysis

• Main Author: Kartawan, I Made
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2014
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45768

This thesis brings light to gender wayang’s (metallophone ensemble) unique and complex tuning system, which has yet to be explored thoroughly in academic circles. In the thesis I examine the tuning of gender wayang instruments through cultural and scientific analysis of the four Balinese tuning concepts ulu suara (pitch), sruti (interval), angkep- angkepan (octave), and ombak (waves). The cultural analysis focuses on the ways that pande gong (metalsmiths), tukang laras (gamelan tuners), juru gender (gender wayang musicians), and dalang (puppeteers) conceptualize the tuning of gender wayang instruments. I juxtapose their perspectives against measurements of nine sets of gender wayang instruments that are spread throughout four of Bali’s nine regencies—Gianyar (Central Bali), Tabanan (West Bali), Badung (South Bali), and Buleleng (North Bali)—and then analyze the measurements with particular attention focused on the four concepts. Following the discussion of these concepts, and informed by them, I investigate tuning levels and their connection to dalang. The thesis also describes gender wayang instrument construction in detail. This provides the reader with suitable background information about the relationship between tukang laras and pande gong.