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Music in Layers
Music from Bali and Java
Traditional music from Bali and Java is often played by a large ensemble of instruments
called the gamelan.
The word gamelan means to

hammer and the gamelan
itself is made up of gongs,
metallophones and drums.
There are sometimes other
instruments added such as
flutes.
The gamelan has political and

religious importance as well as
being used to accompany
theatre. The musicians in the
gamelan treat it with great
respect, for example, you
must remove your shoes before entering the gamelan and you never step over the
instruments because they are said to have a connection with the gods.
Two different scales are used in gamelan music:
• The Slendro which is a five note (pentatonic) scale.
• The Pelog which is a seven note scale.
The music is made up of layers which are performed together and they are heterophonic
which means that the layers are based around the same melodic idea but it is being
played but at different speeds. The main melodic ideas is called the balungan.
The lowest pitch instruments tend to play the longer notes while the higher pitched
instruments play the shorter notes. Some instruments are played very fast by virtuoso
players.
1
The music is divided into four beat groups which are called keteg and the music is played
in cycles called gongan.
ADD A CHECK TEST
2
Gamelan Performance
The following piece of music has been adapted from a traditional gamelan piece called
The Baris Warrior Dance”.
There are four different parts in the piece remember that they all follow the same melodic
idea, the balungan.
The piece may go on for several hours here though is a very short example of how it may
sound.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C E F G F G D F C E F G F G D F
C E F G F G D F
C E F G
C F
Task 1.2 Performance of The Baris Warrior Dance
Learning Objectives
• Play in time with a steady beat
• Maintain your own part
• Listen carefully to other musicians to play in time with them
• Be able to make suggestions to improve the performance (oracy)
Take part in a group/ whole class performance of the Baris Warrior dance focussing
on the learning objectives above.
Your group/ class performance will be recorded so that you can discuss it’s strengths and
weaknesses (Praise and Raise).
3
Section 1
Gamelan Composition
You are going to use GARAGE BAND to compose and arrange a piece of heterophonic
music in the style of the gamelan.
The template for the composition can be found on the iPads but you must make sure you
make a copy and rename it.
Step by step instructions can be found on the video below or on YOUTUBE (enable the
subtitles).
You can only use the notes:
D Eb F A Bb
4
Gamelan Presentation
Learning Objectives:
• To demonstrate an understanding of music from Indonesia.
• To demonstrate literacy skills including extended writing and oracy.
• To demonstrate IT skills through presentation and research.
Create a presentation, in groups of no more than four students, presenting

information about the gamelan. As well as using the information in this Ibook and
from your practical work you should research further information to use in your
presentation.
You will present your work to the class at the start of next lesson.
5
Tubular Bells
The very famous piece of music “Tubular Bells”, written by and

performed by Mike Oldfield uses techniques from the Gamelan including layering.
Listen to the opening of the piece and while you do try and find the answers to the
questions below using the internet and write the answers in full sentences.
Questions
1. In what year was Tubular Bells released?
2. How old was Mike Oldfield when he wrote Tubular Bells?
3. What record label was Tubular Bells released under?
4. Name five different instruments that Mike Oldfield performs on Tubular Bells.
5. Tubular Bells was one of the first albums to be completely multi-tracked. What is
multi-tracking?
6. What film famously uses Tubular Bells as it’s theme tune?
7. How many weeks did Tubular Bells spend in the UK charts when it was first released?
6
TUBULAR BELLS PERFORMANCE
Try performing some of the parts from Tubular Bells together. The timing of the piece is
quite tricky because it is in groups of 7+7+7+9 which makes it feel irregular.
You can combine the parts in any order but you must get to the end of the part before
adding a new part otherwise the timing of the notes will not fit together and you can repeat
each part as many times as you want to.
Tubular Bells Performance Sheet
7
Minimalism Robert Morris: Untitled (1965)
Think about the word MINIMAL what

does it mean? Think of synonyms that
you could use instead of minimal and
share them with a partner.
Minimalism was a musical reaction to

avant-garde composers whose music
was becoming more and more
complicated to understand and in some
cases listen to; many composers were
even writing music according to
mathematical formula.
A group of American composers started re-adopted the age-old formula:
rhythm & pitch = music

and minimalism was born!
Listen to this piece of music by the composer Terry Riley (1964) (it is very long so you
don’t need to listen to all of it), discuss it with a partner and write a short paragraph to
describe the features of the music, try to use musical terms (there is a general glossary of
terms included in the iBook which may help you).
Terry Riley: In C 1964
8
Accompaniment
The underlying sounds used to support a melody line
Related Glossary Terms

Drag related terms here
Index Find Term

Arrangement
A new version of an existing piece of music

Beat/pulse
Beat and pulse are used synonymously to refer to the regular heartbeat of
the ‘steady beat’

Body percussion
Sounds which can be made using parts of the body, eg clapping, tapping

Call and response
A style of music in which a leader sings or plays a short melody (the call) a
chorus of singers/players respond with an answering short melody (the res

Chord
Two or more notes played at the same time

Conductor
The person elected to lead a group of singers or instrumentalists

Crescendo
Getting louder

Diminuendo
Getting quieter

Dot notation
A simple form of Western staff notation. Dots are placed in height and dist
relation to each other to indicate pitch and duration

Drone
A sound or sounds played constantly throughout all or part of a piece of m

accompaniment

Duet
A song or piece of music for two parts of equal importance

Duration
The word used in music to refer to the length of a sound or silence

Dynamics/volume
The loudness of the music, usually described in terms of loud/quiet

Free/arrhythmic
Music which has no discernible steady beat

Glissando
A slide up or down from one musical note to another, in the manner of a ra

scale

Graphic notation
A form of notation in which the composer freely invents symbols which giv
impression of sound

Graphic score
A score in which musical intention is recorded by means of graphic symbo

Improvisation
A piece of music which is created spontaneously

Leap
The space between two musical notes which is greater than a step (see St
movement)

Leap
movement)
Leap
movement)
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incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis
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Major
One of the most common types of eight-note musical scale. Often describ
having a happy sound (see also Minor)

Melodic phrase/phrase
A small unit of a melody, often corresponding to a line of a song

Melody
A tune

Metre
The grouping of beats into twos, threes, fours, etc, for instance in waltz mu
beats are grouped in threes, whereas in march music they are grouped in t
fours

Minor
One of the most common types of eight-note musical scale. Often describ
having a sad sound (see also Major)

Notations
Ways of writing music down – examples include graphic notation and staff

Ostinato (plural ostinatos/ostinati)
A short rhythmic or melodic pattern which is repeated over and over

Pitch
Refers to the complete range of sounds in a piece of music from the lowes
highest

Pitch movement
The steps and leaps by which a melody moves up and down in pitch

Pizzicato
The technique of playing a string instrument, eg violin, by plucking the strin

than playing them with the bow

Playing methods
Acoustic (non-electronic) sounds are made by shaking, scraping, tapping,

a soundmaker

Rest
A silence

Rhythm
Patterns of long and short sounds played within a steady beat

Rhythm pattern
A short section of rhythm

Rhythmical
Music which is underpinned by a steady beat

Score
A written representation of music designed to record a composer’s intentio

Solo
A piece of music for one singer or instrumentalist

Soundmaker
Any sound source used as a musical instrument

Structure
Most music is underpinned by a structure which may be as simple as begi

middle and end

Symbol
Any written representation of a sound

Tempo (plural tempi)
The speed at which music is performed, usually described in terms of fast/

Texture
Layers of sound, such as those created by a melody accompanied by a dr

Timbre
All instruments, including voices, have a particular sound quality which is r

as timbre, eg squeaky

Tremolo
The rapid repetition of notes, producing a quavering effect. It can either be

note or between two notes

Tuned percussion
Percussion instruments which make sounds with a defined pitch, eg glock

Untitled
Step movement
Notes of a melody which move stepwise up or down

Untuned percussion
Percussion instruments which make sounds of indefinite pitch, eg hand dr


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Music in Layers

Music from Bali and Java

The word gamelan means to

The gamelan has political and

Two diﬀerent scales are used in gamelan music:

• The Slendro which is a five note (pentatonic) scale.

• The Pelog which is a seven note scale.

ADD A CHECK TEST

Task 1.2 Performance of The Baris Warrior Dance

• Play in time with a steady beat

• Maintain your own part

• Listen carefully to other musicians to play in time with them

• Be able to make suggestions to improve the performance (oracy)

You can only use the notes:

• To demonstrate an understanding of music from Indonesia.

• To demonstrate literacy skills including extended writing and oracy.

• To demonstrate IT skills through presentation and research.

Create a presentation, in groups of no more than four students, presenting

The very famous piece of music “Tubular Bells”, written by and

1. In what year was Tubular Bells released?

2. How old was Mike Oldfield when he wrote Tubular Bells?

3. What record label was Tubular Bells released under?

6. What film famously uses Tubular Bells as it’s theme tune?

Tubular Bells Performance Sheet

Think about the word MINIMAL what

Minimalism was a musical reaction to

A group of American composers started re-adopted the age-old formula:

rhythm & pitch = music

Terry Riley: In C 1964

The underlying sounds used to support a melody line

Related Glossary Terms

Index Find Term

A new version of an existing piece of music

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Two or more notes played at the same time

Related Glossary Terms

The person elected to lead a group of singers or instrumentalists

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

A sound or sounds played constantly throughout all or part of a piece of m

Related Glossary Terms

A song or piece of music for two parts of equal importance

Related Glossary Terms

The word used in music to refer to the length of a sound or silence

Related Glossary Terms

The loudness of the music, usually described in terms of loud/quiet

Related Glossary Terms

Music which has no discernible steady beat

Related Glossary Terms

A slide up or down from one musical note to another, in the manner of a ra

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

A score in which musical intention is recorded by means of graphic symbo

Related Glossary Terms

A piece of music which is created spontaneously

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms

Related Glossary Terms