Traditional Music of Batak Toba

MYCULTURED.
Do You Know Gondang Sabangunan ? A ritual ceremony in people of Batak Toba always used Gondang Sabangunan that played by agroup of man called pargonsi. The instruments of Gondang Sabangunan are :
1) one or two Sarune Bolon (double-reed oboe);
2) Five Taganing (single headed-braced drum) and One Gordang/Bass drum (single headed);
3) Four Ogung (suspended gong) they are: Ogung Oloan, Ogung Ihutan, Ogung Doal and Ogung Panggora;
4) one Hesek (struck idiophone). This music can not play if in the ceremony do not have Raja Paminta-minta (a man who will asking pargonsi to play the music) and the activity of it call mangido gondang




The Music of Gondang Sabangunan
These Gondang Sabangunan is so unique from the sound and the melody. I mean in Gondang Sabangunan only two instruments are palying the melody: one is taganing and two is sarune bolon. The musician (pargonsi) play the same melody, taganing played the melody in rhythmic pattern and the sarune played the main melody without stopping cause it double-reed like harmonica, you know? And when it played together it build a unique sound and make a comunication each other (like jazz I think cause full of improvisation). These two melody of instruments always follow the beat from ogung sound and a tempo from hesek.

Mangido Gondang
In asking some music (gondang) to play by the pargonsi, Raja paminta-minta have to prepare some word that have a conection to gondang that he want the pargonsi to play and it called umpasa. For example : "Amang pangual pargonsi, dang i dok do pe nungga di botoho jadi bahen damang ma jo gondang Mula-mula i asa marmula do na denggan tu sude hami na ro tu pestaon" (Its mean: Our great musician, you are the god hands so you already know the words what I mean so we want you to play the music of gondang mula-mula hope God will blessed us all in here).

The Music of Batak Toba videos

You can download one of this video and see the traditional drum of Batak Toba called taganing.This video is not the same with Gondang Sabangunan orchestration, but anyway you can see one of the instrument of Gondang Sabangunan, the taganing. Other instrumens such as drum sets, sulim (a kind of flute) just hear the melody and brass section, keyboard, guitar bass and hesek as a tempo are a combination of modern and tradition instruments. In North Sumatera-Indonesia we call these music Musik Tiup or Musik Brass (in Indonesian langguange). The combination of modern and tradition instrument and songs. The title of the song that they played isTole Endehon (come on sing the songs to the Lord).

Batak music in Lake Toba, Indonesia

Traditional Batak music sung outdoors with a large group of local guys, drinking toddy, after our fresh lake fish bbq. The picture is not so great, but the sound is what everyone misses once they go from Lake Toba. This was in front of Oppung Kai Ingot's house in Sosor Galung, TukTuk, Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia in May 2008. Horas!!! Mauliate!!http://www.squidoo.com/The-Music-of-Batak-Toba-

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