The tuning of a Sundanese (West‐Javanese) gamelan: 1893 and 1977

Abstract

Field Museum's gamelan pelog (7‐tone scale), a 24‐piece orchestral ensemble with 109 bronze and 18 wood sounding parts covering a 6‐octave range, was brought to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Recently discovered were 33 wax cylinder recordings of the 1893 performances. Six of these cylinders recorded the tuning of individual instruments representing nearly the total range of the gamelan, including 91 of the bronze and all 18 wood sounding parts. In early 1977, the tones were again recorded along with repeated soundings of a 440‐Hz tuning fork as a control. The 1893 and 1977 tunings were analyzed; frequencies and intervals compared. The results provided new insights into the stability of bronze and wood musical instruments as well as significant evidence of the gamelan's age when it arrived in Chicago in 1893. In late 1977, the tunings of some sounding parts were adjusted, and the gamelan has since been used for the teaching and performance of Javanese gamelan music. [Work supported by NEA and the Walter E. Heller Foundation.]