Gamelan Naga Mas

Gamelan Naga Mas (Golden Dragon) is a community group based in Glasgow playing classical Javanese and Balinese music and modern compositions.  The group has performed music, dance, dance-theatre and shadow puppet theatre throughout Scotland and England.

Members of the group include community and professional musicians, school music teachers, composers and lecturers in the performing arts.  Don't be alarmed if you are a non-musician because we also have non-musicians and young adults in our ensemble. The Gamelan is great for group music-making, suitable for a wide range of musical ability, from novices to performers.

Most of the music we are playing today is drawn from the traditional repertoire of Central Java and Bali. Each instrument in the gamelan has a definite role; some of the instruments only play the central melody of the piece, the balungan. Other instruments have the job of elaborating this melody with faster and/or higher notes, whilst another group of instruments, lower in pitch and slower moving, mark the rhythmic structure of the piece. A special importance is given to the 'big gong', as it is affectionately known; this slowest-moving of all the instruments is one of the most important, marking as it does the endings of melodic sections and entire pieces. Also important are the drums, which set the tempo and give signals to the players, functioning almost as a conductor.

Although the tradition of gamelan stretches back thousands of years, it is far from being a dead art-form. Gamelan music has spread all over the world, having an important influence on many Western classical composers. New music is being written for the gamelan all the time by members of the Naga Mas group, some of it drawing on traditional styles and some of it developing in new directions. This spirit of openness and experimentation is very much in accord with the approach to gamelan taken by the Javanese themselves. 

We think that it is really important not to wear shoes while playing the instruments. Here are some of the reasons

• The gamelan instruments are mostly very low to the floor, designed to be played from a sitting position on the floor. A chair is too high to play the instruments comfortably. We sit directly on the floor or on a small cushion. We rehearse in a nice space where the instruments are set up all the time. There is a carpet on the floor which feels good to sit on, and helps soften the sound a little.  So we take off our shoes to keep the carpet, and the room as clean as possible.

• If you have ever tried sitting cross legged (yoga style) for over an hour or more with trainers, boots, or shoes on, you soon come to the conclusion that you are more or less sitting on your own shoes. It is not too comfortable. It is much more comfortable to sit cross legged without shoes. The feet just feel better.

• Many Indonesians believe that the gamelan is sacred and has supernatural power. Incense and flowers are often offered to the gamelan. Gamelan musicians take off their shoes when they play the gamelan to show their respect to the spirits, which is is believed to guide the instruments. It is also forbidden to step over any instrument in a gamelan to avoid offending the spirit of the instrument.

You can download a general information leaflet about the Gamelan Naga Mas [PDF, 168KB].