The ''calung'' ( su, ) is a type of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

originating from Baduy culture and commonly used in Baduy, Bantenese, Sundanese, Banyumasan, and Balinese performances. The calung (instrument) consists of multiple bamboo tubes which are struck at the base to produce a woody sound. In the Balinese Gamelan gong kebyar, the

metallophone A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), consisting of tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, ...

Jublag can also be known as ''Calung'', it has a one-octave range, and is generally utilized to play mid-range melodies. In

Banyumas Banyumas ( jv, ꦧꦚꦸꦩꦱ꧀, formerly spelt "Banjoemas") Regency is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Purwokerto, but that town no longer has a central a ...

, southwestern Central Java in

, when Calung is referred to as an ensemble, it uses multiple bamboo instruments and is composed of singers and dancers.
(2007). The ensemble is characterized by a variety of traits that include: interlocking melodies and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

, abrupt changes in

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

, as well as syncopated rhythm and humorous vocals. Calung (the ensemble) is present at many celebratory gatherings, and its dancers are sometimes related to prostitution. On November 18, 2010,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

officially recognized the Indonesian which includes a musical instrument of calung as a

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...

, and encouraged the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government to safeguard, transmit, promote performances and to encourage the craftsmanship of the . In 2011, calung traditions are recognized as

National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia is a "living culture" that contains philosophical elements from the traditions of society and is still handed down from generation to generation. Edi Sedyawati (in the introduction to the Intangible C ...

by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.

Etymology

The word "calung" unilaterally claimed by the people of Banyumas comes from the Javanese language. The word comes from two words that are combined into one, namely "carang pring wulung" or the shoot of wulung bamboo/black bamboo (Gigantochloa atroviolacea).

Instrument

The calung works by cutting away multiple pieces of

tubes to create a pitch when struck.
Section (b): Village music. To make the Calung in the Sundanese tradition, a set of bamboo tubes are strung together through holes cut into the tubes. You are then able to play the Calung either suspended; you play the tubes while they are in hanging in front of you, or you can put them across a bamboo frame and play it like a

Gallery

File:Baduy van de residentie Banten, West-Java, Jannes Theodorus Bik (attributed to), c. 1816 - c. 1846.jpg, An illustration of a Baduy people, Sundanese Baduy man playing a calung by Jannes Theodorus Bik, c. 1816–1846. File:Bali, gamelan player 2.jpg, A Rindhik musical instrument (Balinese calung style) from Bali,

. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Slaginstrument van bamboe met vijf buizen TMnr 1057-4a.jpg, Calung Jinjing

References

External links

*(August 2, 2011).
Calung Traditional Art from West java
, ''Antique-Teak-Furniture.BlogSpot.com''. An example of a Calung ensemble can be found in the video halfway down the page. Indonesian musical instruments Gamelan instruments Keyboard percussion instruments Music of West Java Sundanese culture {{Mallet-stub

Etymology

Instrument

Gallery

See also

References

External links