Music     In Balinesian culture music, art and dance are interweaved with each other and with society.  Art and dance in a sense are the paints and pictures of the canvas of music, and this combined product, the painting, is an essential part of life itself.  Nearly every individual from all levels of society participates in some type of art form.  There are musical performances at the many religious ceremonies as well as at weddings, cremations, and even less formal events such as tooth-filling ceremonies.  Since art is a daily part of life the artistic standards are high, and the children are taught from a very young age.
    The groups responsible for these musical performances are called gamelans and are composed of members from the village.  The gamelans do not work alone, but work with the other groups of dancers and such in the village, taking cues from one another.  Within the gamelan are typically found tuned gongs, bronze kettles, bronze metallophones, bamboo xylophones, drums, cymbals, and flutes.  Within this structure are hundreds of varieties of set-ups and sizes.
    With the exception of the drum part, the music is almost entirely composed.  The composer, teacher, does not notate the music.  Each instrument and player learns his section by rote memory.   Since the teacher composes the parts for each of the instruments in his head, and then must teach it to the others, he must also be very proficient in every instrument.  From here it gets even more complex.  The teacher teaches the student both through visual and auditory means.  The student sits facing the teacher while the teacher plays the instrument backwards!  This allows the student to hear and see the required placement of his fingers.
    The Hindu influence is especially clear in the five tones that the gamelan music is based on.  The names of the tones are ding, dong, deng, dung, and dang.  “These tones are spiritually linked with the gods of the five directions and their corresponding mystical colors,” (see illustration).  (Montfort, 42)   Bali Home Page