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Applied Ethnomusicology: The Use of Balinese Gamelan in Recreational and Educational Music Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Annette Sanger
Affiliation:
Department of Social Anthropology and Ethnomusicology, The Queen's University of Belfast
James Kippen
Affiliation:
Department of Social Anthropology and Ethnomusicology, The Queen's University of Belfast

Extract

As an experiment, a Balinese gamelan was integrated with a summer music course for the physically handicapped. Two ethnomusicologists were invited to demonstrate playing techniques and to teach pieces of gamelan music which were later performed. This article documents the success of the experiment and describes the very considerable potential of the gamelan in general recreational and educational music therapy. More particularly, the essentially non-Western methods of learning and practising adopted on the course encouraged and engendered a broad range of skills in those with little or no previous musical experience, and significantly extended the abilities of the musically trained. The results of this experiment suggest that both music therapists and music educators may be able to extend the range of their work by drawing on certain non-Western musical traditions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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References

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