I had the opportunity to participate in what I will call an “arts in-service” at the site of the life enrichment contract I hold in Dundas, MN. I was excited for the day because I knew we’d be experiencing some gamelan music, however I had no idea to what extent that experience was going to be. Joko Sutrisno of University of Minnesota School of Music provided a basement-full of the instruments he uses to perform, teach, and show. He spent a little more than two and a half hours teaching this room full of staff members, most of whom declared they weren’t musical, how to play one four-line “piece” he calls Sayuk, meaning “together in harmony.”
Here is a video that explains more about gamelan:
