![]() ![]() ![]() Noviantoro proved to be a natural talent. It produced the most beautiful and smoothest sound I have ever heard in my life. “My teacher stood in front of the class, rested the instrument against his waist and began to play. Most pupils in his class did not even know the instrument's name. Like many others in Jakarta, Noviantoro had never seen such an instrument in person, let alone played one. A curved bow is permanently wedged between the instrument’s two strings. The first thing Firman did in Noviantoro’s class was to show a humble-looking wooden instrument about 60cm long, with a sound box made from dried coconut shell covered in goat’s skin on one end and two tuning pegs at another. The school eventually brought in Firman Jalut, a multi-instrumentalist and son of Betawi music maestro Babe Jali Jalut, to serve as one of the programme’s first teachers. READ: Heavy metal loving graphic designer sets up wealth redistribution website to help Indonesians hit by COVID-19 The programme was so new, we didn’t have a teacher until the fourth day of school,” he recalled. There was not much interest in the new programme and the then 14-year-old was accepted easily. ![]() Tourism Vocational School Number 57 in South Jakarta had just opened a new major in traditional music by the time Noviantoro graduated from junior high school in 2012. “The only reason I enrolled for a traditional music major at my vocational school was because my grades were not good enough for regular high schools and other majors at the school,” he said. His endeavour soon attracted accomplished musicians, artists and producers like jazz veterans Tohpati Ario Hutomo and budding composer Eka Gustiwana, who invited him for collaborations, both on stage and on records.Īlthough his father was a traditional Javanese gamelan (ensemble music) player, Noviantoro said he never expressed any real interest in becoming a musician as a boy. Eventually, they will want to know more about the instrument, what it is and where it’s from.” People are intrigued and realise that this instrument is suited for all kinds of genres. “I get people interested by playing hit songs of today. I want to use social media to reintroduce kongahyan to the masses, so people are aware that the Betawi (community) has an instrument called kongahyan,” Noviantoro told CNA. “People think of traditional instruments as something old fashioned and irrelevant with today’s time. The musician has also been updating traditional Betawi songs, rearranging them with modern beats and using both the kongahyan and contemporary instruments like keyboards and electric bass to perform them. ![]()
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