FLUTES 6: Suling, West Java Indonesia by SEAN FOLSOM

PART SIX, a FIPPLE FLUTE, from THE SHORT HISTORY OF FLUTES by SEAN FOLSOM, producer BB Simmons.
HEADSUPBERKELEY. The Suling Flute of Indonesia is called by many different names,depending on the types and sizes, and has more or less numbers of finger holes, as a result of the native musical traditions found on the numerous islands of this very large country, known as Indonesia.
This Suling shown here has 6 finger holes and is part of a number of genres, where it is never played solo.
My favorite Music Genre is "KACAPI SULING" of West Java, which has the Suling playing with 2 of more Kacapi (String Zithers). I characterize this Music as the Chamber Music of West Java, as it very easy to listen to.
There are some very nice articles on this Music on Wikipedia please see their entries for "Suling", "Kacapi Suling", and "Tembang Sunda". Please also look for works by Dutch musicologists Jaap Kunst and more recently, Wim Van Zanten.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Suling
• Flute
• West
• Java
• Indonesia
• Traditional
• Music
• Pelog
• Scale
• Sean
• Folsom
• seanthepiper

[kangegha]

do u know what scale is used to play the suling?

[seanthepiper]

@kangegha To my knowledge, Two Scales can be played on the Suling:

Pelog and Slendro. Perhaps some expert can add a comment ?

[seanthepiper]

So Mr. Degung, you wouldn't happen to be Randy Raine Reusch would you?

As I see from your profile that you live in Canada. My informant for the term "chapati" is my friend Brian Steeger who studied Gamelan in Java and Bali and was a student of the famous Sudanese Suling master Sulaeman, back in the 1970s. I myself attended a day long lecture at UCLA by Prof. Mantle Hood on the

Music of Bali and Java in 1974, one day does not an make an expert, of course

so I bow to your superior knowledge !

[peri2617]

I am one of Bandung West Java Indonesia over. it's not "kakapi suling" but the truth is "Kacapi Suling"

[1degung]

This 6 finger-hole ring flute indigenous to the Sundanese culture of West Java, Indonesia is called the suling panjang, not "s. chapati".