Until then, I am updating for the sake of updating.
The spaces between my entries are getting too long, and I don't like it.
A few weeks ago, my friend Kimberley invited me to join Otago's Gamelan Community Group. What is Gamelan? According to Wikipedia:
"A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included.
The term refers more to the set of instruments than to the players of those instruments. A gamelan is a set of instruments as a distinct entity, built and tuned to stay together — instruments from different gamelan are generally not interchangeable."
It is actually really incredible. I was intimidated at first because I knew nothing about Gamelan, but everyone in the group is really friendly, patient, and understanding; everyone was willing to teach me.
The sound of everyone playing together is something I can't really describe. It's unlike anything I've ever heard before. The music sounds sweet, but at the same time, melancholy, and maybe even painful. And after every practice, I've always got the beats and the sounds of gamelan stuck in my head.
Here's a photo of an ensemble of gamelan instruments:
It's a really fun activity. It's difficult to get the rhythm of gamelan at first, but after practicing, it's simple. Also, rather than using notes, gamelan uses numbers. Each key is coordinated with a number, and then the sheets of music have numbers on them to indicate which keys to play. Definitely easier than reading music (which I am slowly learning, but it's hard).
It's pretty much crunch time at Otago. I have just a couple more weeks before classes officially end. I have four, yes FOUR, essays due by the end of the month. I need to get on it and stay on top of things. Once classes are over, the last 3 weeks or so of the semester are dedicated to final exams. I have 3: one on 10 June, 16 June, and 24 June.
Everything is going by so quickly. Before I know it, I'll be on my way back to Hawaii!
My flatmates and I did a road trip to Queenstown this past weekend. It was an amazingly epic trip. So epic, that it deserves it's own entry. And because I'm trying to surprise someone, I will speak no more of it here.
Until then, thanks for reading :].
Gamelan sounds interesting. I think I should youtube it! But, knowing me I forget things so easily I won't ever get around to it. =/ Plus, I'm procrastinating really badly right now. I should be writing the 6 essays that I need to turn in tomorrow. How many have I done? 0. LOL. Alright! So, I'll see you when you get back eh? You, me, and Jayna should do something! Yah! Movies? Sushi? Fun Factory? Anything! Beach! Ahh. It's meeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllltttttttttttttiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggg here!
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