Gamelan workshop

Gamelan workshop

The gamelan workshop is a space dedicated solely to the playing of the percussion instruments of Java. This Indonesian island is home to half the country’s population, whose artistic traditions are both ancient and alive and in which music occupies a privileged position.

The bar instruments and bronze gongs form an ensemble called gamelan which must be regarded as a collective instrument of inseparable elements. It is essential to have fifteen musicians to set it vibrating.

From the outset, workshop participants are confronted with this collective dimension of Javanese music and so gain access to a Southeast Asian culture that is still poorly known. The cultural discovery also comes through the authenticity of the setting: shoes are removed, the participants sit cross-legged on the floor, the learning of songs enables the sounds of the language to be appreciated.

The programme, which began in 1993 with the inauguration of the Cité de la Musique, is open to beginners, children and adults, as well as experienced musicians enrolled in weekly workshops.