Week One

Thus far in my journey into piano composition I:

-got a piano teacher, albeit on YouTube

-learned where each key is on the keyboard

-thought of names for said keyboard

-decided on Ken Kesey

-learned how to draw a treble clef

-made flashcards for half of the notes on a staff

-learned the intro to an Adele song

-mastered the thumb-leap technique

-played the gamelan

The last bullet didn't actually have to do with piano. But it has to do with music.

This is a gamelan. It is a type of Indonesian orchestra. Most instruments included in the ensemble are idiophones, meaning their sound rings out from the vibrational resonance after being struck.  The only exception is the membranophone seen above. Basically a drum, it produces sound from being struck on its membranous covering--which is a disgusting way of saying "top."

The xylophone-like  instrument I first played taught me about notes and scales. The "saron" had 7 plates available for  hitting, but instead of the 7-note C-scale I was used to seeing on the keyboard, it consisted of the notes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 1, and 2. The second 1 and 2 are an octave above the first couple of notes.

Playing with the gamelan provided me with some much-needed practice in rhythm and beats. With the keyboard, like any other instrument, it's not just finger placement and melody-memorizing that makes a piece worth listening to. The pulse of the song must be regular and steady. In my case, this requires a silent but constant "one-two-three-four" to be playing  in my head while I strike the keys.

After mallet-ing the xylophone for a few verses, I moved on to the "bonang," seen at the foreground in the picture above. Their sound is generally used to accent the melody produced by the sarons. By experimenting with the bonangs, I was able to hit them on the rhythm's "off-beat," or in the period of time left silent between sounds. This embellishment of the rhythm gave the song a more dynamic feel.

Hopefully, I will be able to translate the rhythmic timing I felt in the gamelan room back to my bedroom in my apartment with the keyboard sitting in front of me expectantly. I'll keep you posted...