A01=Marc Perlman
anthropology
art
Author_Marc Perlman
balungan
Category=AVA
central java
cognitive anthropology
colonialism
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
ethnomusicology
gamelan music
implicit melody
inaudible melody
indigenous culture
indigenous music
indonesia
java
javanese musicians
karawitan
melody
music
music theory
musicians
nonfiction
orchestra
pitch
polyphony
post colonialism
secret melody
suhardi
sumarsam
supanggah
Product details
- ISBN 9780520239562
- Weight: 499g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 25 Oct 2004
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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The gamelan music of Central Java is one of the world's great orchestral traditions. Its rich sonic texture is not based on Western-style harmony or counterpoint, but revolves around a single melody. The nature of that melody, however, is puzzling. In this book, Marc Perlman uses this puzzle as a key to both the art of the gamelan and the nature of musical knowledge in general. Some Javanese musicians have suggested that the gamelan's central melody is inaudible, an implicit or 'inner' melody. Yet even musicians who agree on its existence may disagree about its shape. Drawing on the insights of Java's most respected musicians, Perlman shows how irregularities in the relationships between the melodic parts have suggested the existence of 'unplayed melodies'. To clarify the differences between these implicit-melody concepts, "Unplayed Melodies" tells the stories behind their formulation, identifying each as the creative contribution of an individual musician in a post colonial context (sometimes in response to Western ethnomusicological theories).
But these stories also contain evidence of the general cognitive processes through which musicians find new ways to conceptualize their music. Perlman's inquiry into these processes illuminates not only the gamelan's polyphonic art, but also the very sources of creative thinking about music.
Marc Perlman is Associate Professor of Music at Brown University.
