Tepa Selira Culture in the Art of Karawitan

Abstract

Karawitan is a part of the Javanese culture that was born because of the needs and demands of the aesthetic sense of music from the supporting community as a manifestation and crystallization of the aesthetic sense of the Javanese community. The system of values and historical experience of Javanese society in its journey has influenced the Javanese culture which eventually formed the identity of Javanese society expressed in Javanese traditional music (Karawitan). Karawitan art has passed natural selection by society and its era until it has ethical values and offers high aesthetic taste. Surakart traditional Karawitan places the rhythm as the most important element in a gending performance led by kendang as pamurba irama. Pamurba means the leader who is responsible for regulating the gending breath and also giving life to it and leading other instruments working together to create a harmonious gending performance. There is a typical musical leadership character of Karawitan so that the leadership character in Karawitan is very different from other musical traditions, especially western music (orchestra) called tepa selira. In leading Karawitan, kendang serves as a pamong or aligner that should promote the culture of tepa selira in leading Karawitan performance. Karawitan tradition does not recognize the selfprojection in the performance which means that each gamelandrummer must develop tepa selira attitude that there will be no chaos in the performance of Karawitan's volume.