Gamelan’s Popularity in the US Prompts Call for Preservation from Indonesian Youth
- 24 Agt 2026 17:59 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Key Points
- Gamelan, Indonesia’s traditional musical ensemble, has gained international recognition as an important cultural heritage.
- Despite its popularity abroad, there are concerns over weak commitment among younger Indonesians to preserve and learn gamelan.
RRI.CO.ID, Yogyakarta - Gamelan, Indonesia’s traditional musical ensemble, has become a globally recognized cultural heritage. Yet despite its growing popularity overseas, there has been no strong commitment among younger Indonesians to preserve this indigenous cultural legacy.
Head of the Culture and Tourism Agency of the Pakualaman Duchy in Yogyakarta Province, Gusti Pangeran Haryo (GPH) Indrokusumo, voiced concern over the issue. He noted that people in the United States have shown a strong commitment not only to preserving gamelan but also to learning how to play it.
“In the United States, across its 52 states, there are 700 gamelan sets. Who knows how deeply they are studying it,” “And if they begin producing them, we will have been left behind. This is what must be conveyed to today’s younger generation,” he said in Yogyakarta on Monday, 24 August 2026.
GPH Indrokusumo also highlighted what he described as a decline in the quality of gamelan instruments produced in Indonesia. He attributed this to manufacturing practices that appear careless and fail to meet required production standards.
“Nowadays, gamelan here are no longer made from the same materials, bronze and whatever else was traditionally added. There are gongs that, when struck, sound like ‘drem... drem...’ as though discarded drum metal had been turned into a gong," he said.
Compared with gamelan sets produced in earlier times, he said, today’s instruments clearly fall far short in quality. This demonstrates that the metallurgical technology of Indonesia’s ancestors was more advanced, as reflected in the products they created.
GPH Indrokusumo stressed that safeguarding the authenticity and musical standards of gamelan is a shared responsibility of all Indonesians. (Annaila Azzahra-EN)
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