July 30, 2005

tune in

as expected, i forgot to bring the cam.
sometimes, grooming needs more attention than what needs to be packed into the bag, okay.
anyway, as i mentioned earlier, gamelan class on friday would be significant, cos it's the first (and only) time we'll ever get to see the gamelan being tuned. we could hear the grinding of metal from across the road, and were unsure if we were going into a class equipped with gamelans or a roomful of metal shavings.

got into class, and were met by thomas (our german gamelan teacher) and a Pak Mid (that's, Bapak Midiyanto, for the rest of you!) who was sitting on some towels, the back of a saron (a section of instruments of the gamelan) in his left hand and a metal grinder in his right, making one heck of a noise.

imagine being exposed to such ruckus for 3 days straight (that's how long it took to tune the whole gamelan set in school, cos we don't have a large set) without ear plugs and still be able to hear the pitch of each instrument perfectly. oh, did i mention that he also makes gamelans?

that's why he's a master musician, can.
that's why he's based at UC Berkeley, can.

it was definitely kinda cool to meet someone like him.
i couldn't stop thanking him for the opportunity to meet and learn from him.

now, for those who's seen the gamelan set at NIE, well, FYI, that's his personal set! Apparently, he was a little late on his promise of making and delivering a set to NIE on time and was forced to deliver his own personal set instead. he (according to him) cried for a week.
poor guy.

reminder:
attend NUS gamelan performance next month.
nur, wanna go?

luv, tash 11:34 PM