Music of Indonesia

Indonesia is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area to area also uniquely differs from one another. For example, each traditional type of music is often accompanied by its very own dance and theatre. Contemporary music scene have also been heavily shaped by various foreign influences, such as America, Britain, Japan, Korea, and India.[1]

The music of Java, Sumatra, Bali, Flores (Lesser Sunda Islands) and other islands have been well documented and recorded, and further research by Indonesian and international scholars is also ongoing. The music in Indonesia predates historical records, various Native Indonesian tribes often incorporate chants and songs accompanied with musical instruments in their rituals. The contemporary music of Indonesia today is also popular amongst neighbouring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.[2]

In general, traditional music and songs of Indonesia compromises a strong beat and harmony with strong influence from Indian, Java, Arabic, Chinese and Malay classical music. The influence is strongly visible in the popular traditional music genre of Dangdut.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Indonesia - Geography". Country Studies.
  2. ^ MyIndo KC Ismail: Muzik Indonesia lebih progresif dari muzik Malaysia (in Malay)
  3. ^ Philip Yampolsky. "Music of Indonesia". Cambridge.org. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ "The Indonesia Music". guidetotheworldofmusic.com. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Get Fascinated by these 5 Unique Traditional Indonesian Musical Instruments While You Stay at Home". indonesia.travel (in Indonesian). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.