MALAYSIAN MUSIC

Malay music and performing arts: influences from ICTI

Musical Categories:• Classical Folk Music- Emerged from pre-colonial period and still

exists in the form of vocal, dance and theatrical music.

• Syncretic or Acculturated music: Developed during post Portuguese period.

It contains both local and foreign music elements like Western and theatrical sources.  

• agung• kulintang

1. KERTOK Ensemble:• a type of musical ensemble consists of

xylophones• Single slabs of wood are placed over

coconut shell resonators and struck by wood mallets.

Musical Forms and Ensembles

2. Dikir Barat

• Lyrical debate• “a duel of wits”• address social issues, legal matters,

politics, government regulations,• tukang karut (leader) makes up and

sings lyrics on the topic of the performance

3. Zapin

• a dance form that is popular in Indonesia and Malaysia

• It is believed to have been introduced by Arab and Muslim missionaries from the Middle East in the fourteenth century.

4. Bangsawan 

• A type of traditional Malay Opera• It was known to have developed

from a sort of Indian theatre performance during the 19th century by visiting Indian travelers.

• nobleman

5. Ronggeng

a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong.

6. Sila't Milayu• form of martial arts similar to Ta'i Chi. • It originates from Malay Peninsula since the

Christian Era. • Sila't Milayu is a mixture of martial arts,

dance and music usually accompanied by Gongs, Drums and Indian Oboes.