The music and musical instruments of Nusantara are part of our ingenuity as a nation.
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Kompas/Yuniadhi Agung
A discussion about instruments and music in the country was held at the Kompas Newspaper office in Jakarta on Thursday. Present were ethnomusicologist Rizaldi Siagian, North Sumatra University lecturer Irwansyah Harahap, ISI Surakarta ethnomusicology lecturer Joko S Gombloh, musician Viky Sianipar and musician and actress Ayu Laksmi.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The music and musical instruments of Nusantara are part of our ingenuity as a nation. With them, we are able to delve into and nurture our identity as a diverse nation. The artistic sounds they produce can touch our hearts and, therefore, can serve as social glue.
Nusantara music and musical instruments are becoming increasingly foreign and eroded as time goes by. Extraordinary efforts are needed to preserve Nusantara music and musical instruments.
This was one of the major themes of the discussion on Nusantara music and musical instruments that was held on Thursday (11/1/2017) at the Jakarta office of Kompas daily. Speaking at the discussion were ethnomusicologist Rizaldi Siagian, North Sumatra University (USU) lecturer Irwansyah Harahap, Surakarta Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) ethnomusicology lecturer Joko S Gombloh, musician Viky Sianipar and musician-cum-actress Ayu Laksmi.
The discussion was held ahead of the Kompas coverage on Nusantara music and musical instruments that would be published between late January and November 2018. The first article will appear in Kompas’s Sunday edition in February 2018.
Rizaldi said that our nation’s ingenuity could be found in the kecapi batak, which looks simpler than a guitar but can generate similarly wonderful tunes. “The simpler a musical instrument is, the more difficult it is to play it,” Rizaldi said.
The same could be said for the sasando gong from Rote Island, which is actually an entire musical system transformed into a simple instrument made from the leaves of the lontar palm. “The basic principle is conceptualized from how the sasando gong is played,” Rizaldi said.
Irwansyah said the diversity in traditional music and musical instruments across the archipelago reflected our local wisdom and ingenuity.
Ayu Laksmi said that music penetrated the emotions and could be enjoyed by anyone to meditate, reflect upon life, calm the soul and be immersed in the majesty of feelings. Some even said that music had powers of enlightenment and healing. She cited several songs in her album, Svara Semesta, that were played during creative healing activities at retreats.
Preservation
Irwansyah said the local wisdom and diversity in Nusantara music and musical instruments must be thoroughly exposed so the nation’s youths would not become ahistorical. Preservation was also necessary to ensure that their knowledge was handed down to the younger generation.
Ayu Laksmi and Viky Sianipar are involved in such preservation efforts. Viky preserves traditional songs so that they can still be enjoyed 50 years from now and beyond. He tries to discover the musical genres favored by today’s youths, such as the nu metal, alternative rock tunes of Linkin Park. Listen to his version of “Sinanggar Tulo”, a North Sumatran folk song, that has been made into an alternative rock arrangement a la Linkin Park.
“I want this song to still exist when today’s youths are older,” said Viky, who has released five albums in his Toba Dream series of traditional folk songs in contemporary arrangements.
The road has not always been smooth for Viky. Many of the older Batak generation have derided him for rearranging iconic Batak songs. Songs like “Sinanggar Tulo” sound different in his arrangement. “They said that the songs had lost their Batak charm,” he said.
However, due to the songs’ different sounds, they have become popular among youths. Little by little, these youths have begun asking their parents about the meaning of the Batak lyrics in these songs.
Joko S Gombloh said that he supported Viky’s initiative. However, he said that preservation efforts should not separate songs or music from their historical origins. Therefore, it was important to explain the meaning behind the music, whether their relevance to certain rituals or to the traditions that gave birth to the music.
Gombloh’s concern is understandable, as he found through research that people have different views on traditional musical instruments. “They said that the keyboard was their traditional musical instrument, because they have only known that instrument since they were born,” he said.
Nevertheless, Gombloh said, there was good news. Quoting British pop-rock legend Peter Gabriel, he said that the music industry was starting to set its eyes on non-Western musical cultures. Supported by the mass media and the global music industry, this musical formula was rapidly penetrating the world.
“The global recording industry and the mass media have huge roles in constructing the musical tastes that these musicians are focusing on,” said Gombloh, adding that Nusantara music was included in such talks.
