Memukul Dengan Kepekaan (article published in KOMPAS, November 9th 2015)

This is the article I wrote, commissioned by KOMPAS and published November 9th, about Harry Murti, a master builder of drums & percussion instruments. His contribution, together with the students and members of Jakarta Drum School during my opera CLARA last year was so crucial, and they are participating again in my next opera of next year, Tumirah, Sang Mucikari. Some numbers of this new opera will be performed during the Jakarta New Year Concert on January 10th, at Titan Center, Bintaro, sung by the same vocalists of the actual complete opera next year. The title of this article means "Hitting with sensitivity" :) . ............................................................................................................................................. Memukul Dengan Kepekaan ............................................................................................................................................. Musik pada saat ini seringkali hanya dianggap sebagai "peran pembantu", dalam pertunjukan teater atau ilustrasi film. Dari keseluruhan itu, ada segmen di orkes / grup musik yang lebih dianggap sebagai "latar belakang" saja, yaitu bagian drums dan perkusi. Perkusi adalah segmen dari keseluruhan orkestrasi yang mungkin paling disalah-pahami oleh penonton awam. Fungsinya sering dianggap semata-mata sebagai "penentu/penyokong ritme" padahal sebetulnya (bisa) jauh lebih dari itu. Bahkan drummer dan pemain perkusi sering diejek sebagai "tukang pukul" di orkes. Kenyataannya, perkusi juga punya "warna", dan warna itu bisa menentukan suasana / ekspresi yang sangat sutil, baik ditengah keriuhan para penggebuknya maupun sewaktu dimainkan dengan sangat lembut (ya, ya, perkusi itu bisa berbunyi sangat lembut dan indah!). Dan di aspek ini lah saya salut dengan Harry Murti, seorang master-builder (pembuat instrumen) drum Indonesia yang telah diakui dunia. Untuk berbagai alat perkusi, kayu birch dan maple adalah yang biasanya dipakai sebagai bahan, dan Harry telah menunjukkan kayu-kayu dari pohon di Indonesia yang menawarkan warna dan resonansi yang berbeda: Jati, Sungkai, Makassar Ebony, Bengkirai, Mahogany, Cherry, selain bambu. ............................................................................................................................................. Harry Murti mulai bermain drum di sekolah dasar [1977], dan setelah sekitar bermain 5 tahun mulai melakukannya dengan serius - ia membentuk band, menjadi session player, dll, tapi sebetulnya ia selalu tertarik pada suara itu sendiri. Teknik bermain penting untuk belajar, tapi justru banyak musisi tidak sensitif terhadap suara instrumen itu. ............................................................................................................................................. Sebagai seseorang yang terobsesi, cinta Harry Murti terhadap musik perkusi mendorongnya untuk belajar bagaimana membuat drum itu sendiri. Sebagai seorang "master builder" otodidak, alat perkusi berkualitas tinggi yang diproduksinya menggunakan kayu Indonesia, yang membuatnya memiliki suara yang unik. Bersemangat untuk berbagi pengetahuan musik, Harry juga menciptakan sebuah sekolah musik khusus untuk perkusi, Jakarta Drum School. ............................................................................................................................................. Seperti kebanyakan musisi tahu, instrumen yang berkualitas, dalam hal ini drum dan alat perkusi lainnya itu mahal. Ketika kita pergi ke sebuah studio latihan, kita tidak bisa semata-mata mencatat atau mengingat untuk meniru apa yang kita dengar karena hal itu tidak bisa memproduksi nada yang kita cari -- itu semua harus dipraktekkan, dilatih, dan berkali-kali. Setelah meneliti, Harry menemukan bahwa kayu adalah aspek penentu yang besar dalam kualitas bunyinya, bukan hanya jenis kayunya, tapi juga bagaimana pengolahannya. Harry tentu saja ingin membuat instrumen yang bagus, tapi pada mulanya tidak punya uang bahkan kesabaran untuk menabung -- mengapa hanya orang dengan uang berlimpah yang dapat membeli alat yang bagus? Sejak itu, Harry memutar otak. ............................................................................................................................................. Harry mulai belajar drum itu sendiri melalui majalah dan berdiskusi dengan berbagai orang yang ia temui selama kunjungannya ke NAMM [National Association of Music Merchants, sebuah tradeshow musik]. Selama melalui kuliah aeronautika, kemudian kerja dan menikah, ia mulai bereksperimen membuat drum. Saking bergairahnya, ia mencapai titik di mana ia keluar dari pekerjaan untuk melanjutkan penelitian, ketika ia menyadari bahwa mengkonstruksi berbagai jenis drum adalah jalan hidupnya. Ia membeli drum dengan berbagai ukuran hanya untuk membongkar, menggergaji kayunya guna menganalisa secara mendetail. Ini tentu membuat orangtua dan istrinya resah, karena praktis Harry tidak dapat memasukkan uang untuk keluarganya. Tapi setelah kelihatan hasilnya, satu mukjizat terjadi, seperti yang diceritakan Harry kepada saya. Suatu hari, pada pukul 9 pagi, ibunya yang sakit memanggilnya. Ia akhirnya merestui apa yang dikerjakan anak lelakinya, serta memberinya modal membangun studio. 3 jam kemudian, di tengah hari, sang ibunda wafat. ............................................................................................................................................. Karena ia memiliki latar belakang bidang aeronautika yang dipelajarinya di perguruan tinggi, ia punya lumayan banyak pengetahuan teknis. Setelah ia memiliki pemahaman dasar tentang instrumen, setiap kali ada teman yang memerlukan memperbaiki drumnya, Harry menawarkan jasa untuk memperbaikinya. Ini memberinya kesempatan untuk bereksperimen lebih lanjut tentang aspek-aspek yang berbeda. ............................................................................................................................................. Selama dua tahun ia tidak bekerja, studio "Harry's Drum Craft" yang ia bangun bisa menghasilkan uang sehingga ia bisa tetap fokus pada minatnya. Ia sudah berhasil membuat beberapa drum yang dimainkan pada saat itu, walaupun tidak sampai pada kualitas yang ia inginkan. Sambil membangun studio latihan ia melihat bahwa salah satu pekerja konstruksi, Dali, memiliki keahlian yang besar - dia menaruh perhatian terhadap detail dan konsisten dengan pekerjaannya. Ketika studio selesai dibangun, Harry mendekatinya dan bertanya apakah ia mau membantunya menjadi asisten membuat drum. ............................................................................................................................................. Selama 2 atau 3 bulan kedepannya, Dali dibayarnya hanya untuk melihat, mengamati dan mempelajari cara Harry membuat drum, baru 6 bulan berikutnya ia mulai membuat drum bersama Harry sampai dia mampu membuat drum dengan bimbingan minimal. Setelah sekitar 2 tahun, mereka akhirnya mencapai titik di mana mereka berdua puas dengan produk akhir. ............................................................................................................................................. Kini Harry adalah salah satu kurator yang diseleksi oleh Global Project yang berbasis di Amerika Serikat. Para Master builder Dunia di pilih oleh kurator independent yg sudah qualified. Global project adalah project indie para Master builder Dunia yg ingin berbagi dgn drummer2 yg tidak mampu secara finansial untuk bisa tetap merasakan Drum/snare dgn kualitas high quality. ............................................................................................................................................. Saat ini ada 22 Master builder yg terpilih, dari Amerika Serikat, Inggris, Skotlandia, Australia dll., dan dari Asia sementara ini hanya dari Indonesia yaitu Harry's Drum Craft. Ini adalah pengakuan terhadap HDC sebagai Master Builder Drum di dunia. Disitu setiap Master Builder akan memberikan satu unit snarenya yg terbaik untuk dipamerkan dan dilelang atau langsung diberikan kepada calon2 drummer2 yg berbakat atau bisa membuktikan perjalanan karir yg panjang di dunia drum tetapi belum beruntung secara financial yg akhirnya tidak mampu untuk membeli drum yg bagus. Bulan Desember ini para master builders dan drummers penerima donasi akan berkumpul di New York City. ............................................................................................................................................. Ritme dan Warna dari Pemerkosaan ............................................................................................................................................. Seni datang dalam bentuk yang berbeda-beda. Dalam seni visual anda dapat melihat warna, bentuk, dan ukuran, tapi bagaimana anda menggambarkan suara? Hal ini tidak dapat dilihat, tidak dapat disentuh, tapi dapat dirasakan. Harry mendengarkan berbagai musik sejak ia masih sangat muda - dari Chick Corea, Saga, Genesis, Rush, sampai Casiopea - dan apa yang ia pelajari adalah bahwa drum-set yang berkarakter kuat dapat mewakili karakter dan ekspresi sang musikus. Suara drum yang baik mengilhami dan memotivasi kita untuk bermain, suaranya sesuai dengan musik yang kita cari untuk mengkomunikasikannya ke publik. Ingat, musik lahir dari satu aspek, yaitu ritme. Dia datang jauh sebelum yang lainnya: melodi, harmoni dll. Bahkan ritme lah yang membuat kita hidup, karena detak jantunglah yang mengiringi kita sampai mati. Ritme lah yang memotivasi kita untuk bergerak, dan melahirkan aspek-aspek musikal lainnya. ............................................................................................................................................. Kalau ada satu elemen yang mempertemukan Harry Murti dan saya, elemen itu adalah ... perkosaan. Nanti dulu, pembaca, Harry dan saya tidak memperkosa siapa-siapa kok. Tapi adegan pemerkosaan sebagai klimaks di opera saya CLARA itulah yang mendorong saya mengundang Harry dan rekan-rekannya dari Jakarta Drum School (JDS) untuk mengisi musik di adegan itu, selain beberapa adegan lainnya. CLARA menceritakan pemerkosaan terhadap wanita-wanita keturunan Cina di masa kerusuhan Mei 1998. Kerjasama itu terbukti sangat berhasil. CLARA terpilih menjadi Karya Seni Pertunjukan terbaik 2014 oleh majalah Tempo, dan selain hal itu berkat kekinclongan JDS, saya harus sebut juga bahwa penonton dan pengamat juga memberi pujian tinggi kepada para penyanyi utama Isyana Sarasvati yang memerankan Clara dan Widhawan Aryo Pradhita sebagai Polisi korup dengan nilai artistik yang sangat berkelas. ............................................................................................................................................. Harry memiliki keinginan yang sebetulnya sama dengan keinginan saya di dunia gamelan. Negara kita itu sebetulnya negara tetabuhan. Ada tifa, kenongan dll., dan kami bermimpi bahwa instrumen-instrumen tersebut dapat secara mudah berintegrasi ke grup-grup atau orkes yang "standar". Untuk itulah kita perlu standardisasi, dalam tonalitasnya dan dalam terminologi setiap instrumen, sehingga bisa praktis ditulis dalam partitur / notasi. Mungkin banyak yang masih belum tahu, bahwa kesulitan tertinggi mengintegrasi sebuah kelompok gamelan dengan orkes simfoni "barat", misalnya, bukanlah membuat musiknya supaya tidak menjadi "tambal sulam", tapi menyamakan tonalitasnya dengan instrumen barat yang sudah fix, A adalah 440 Hz. ............................................................................................................................................. Kesuksesan CLARA juga yang membuat Harry dan saya justru tidak puas. Berarti kita harus kolaborasi lagi! Februari tahun depan jika semua lancar, kami akan kerjasama lagi di opera saya yang terbaru, "Tumirah, Sang Mucikari". Seperti CLARA, ini juga saya adaptasi dari naskah hebat Seno Gumira Ajidarma. Kali ini pemeran utamanya adalah Artidewi, penyanyi jazz yang juga berteknik dasar klasik menjadi Tumirah (sebetulnya semua penyanyi --dan pemusik-- yang bagus itu saya percaya karena teknik dasarnya dari aliran klasik, sih), sedangkan para soprano terbaik Nusantara seperti Mariska Setiawan dan Evelyn Merrelita akan jadi "para pelacur"nya. Lagi-lagi akan ada adegan pemerkosaan, kali ini terhadap para pelacur, dan disitu JDS akan berperan besar lagi untuk membangun suasana yang sangar, buas sekaligus mencekam. Seperti juga di CLARA, mereka bukan hanya sibuk memukul drums dari berbagai macam ukuran dan jenis, tapi juga ikut acting. Dan jangan salah, acting sebagai pemerkosa itu tidak gampang, tapi lebih sulit lagi membuat musik yang bisa pas dengan koreografi pemerkosaan itu, untuk membuatnya tidak vulgar. Baik Tumirah maupun Clara adalah luapan kegelisahan saya terhadap isyu kemanusiaan yang masih begitu rendah dihargai oleh pemerintah Indonesia, terbukti dengan belum terselesaikannya pembunuhan Munir, kerusuhan 1998, bahkan kejadian 1965 dan masih banyak lagi. Apakah musik bisa mengubah dunia? Tidak usah dunia deh, negara saja cukup, satu negara saja. Atau, cukup beberapa politikus yang berhati keras dan berdarah dingin. Apa musik bisa menggetarkan nurani mereka? Mungkin tidak, tapi musik bisa memberi harapan. Saat kita ingin mengekspresikan sesuatu yang terlalu dalam untuk disampaikan dengan kata-kata, hanya musik yang dapat melakukannya. Dan ekspresi itu salah satunya adalah harapan yang tersimpan. Tanpa harapan, buat apa hidup ini?

Creative Arts, Creative Industry, Creative Economy

Well, well, the year started with a bang. I am both surprised and grateful that the prominent news magazine in Indonesia, TEMPO, presented me with a double honor. They have chosen my opera CLARA as the best live performance of the year, and also have chosen me as their one of their Artist Of The Year, in the category of Performing Arts. It is a tradition they have done every year, with a board of jury consisting prominent journalists and artists of different fields, so I am deeply grateful that my colleagues have chosen me for this year. They based that decision mainly on CLARA, which in fact I still think is far from being perfect. No matter what people think about CLARA, positive or negative, I am aware that it has its musical flaws (and Chendra our director & choreographer might think equally in his field, and everyone else too in their own ones). If it were to be performed again, I am going to do something about it, since after the premiere I managed to think "out of the box" and see the problem from another point of view. I am no Mozart, I couldn't grasp a 70ish-minute length opera in just a few seconds. After I heard, and SAW it, then I could hopefully fix it. Maybe not many in the audience were aware of this flaw, but me as the composer, I would like to revise and repair some things to make it better. Anyway, I am he who always look at today as an opportunity to do better what I have done yesterday. And a work of art is like life, it is never finished until the day you die. And even "finish" is not the right word, "cut off" is perhaps more appropriate. .............................................................................................................................................. Aside from its artistic issues, CLARA is a proof of how we could succeed in the first steps of classical music industry here in Indonesia. Indonesia has succeeded in its creative economy in the field of theatre and fine arts, it's starting in the film industry and of course already a long time in pop music. CLARA is of course "commissioned" music, but the commissioner, which is the non-governmental organization Indonesia for Humanity, expected (perhaps "gambled" is a better word) an income from it, apart from employing it as a vehicle to spread its mission in raising awareness in the society for their mission. So, their function is more of a producer. Of course making a simple piano recital is much cheaper budget-wise, but I am talking about a collaborative performing arts, where several artists work together involving many performers and artists of different fields. This is not a subsidized work of art, either governmental (which as we can see in Europe, almost always ends up in corruption or nepotism) or from a private company. This is purely a(n artistic) product which is expected to give and take, that we do justice to the public, that they would receive what they have paid for. It is not serving that longtime b*llshit "Art for Art's sake". Art should be part of the society, and I always believe that it is a necessity, unlike what our previous generation said "first you need to eat, then you can have art. Art cannot prosper when the stomach is empty". No, artists live from art, and public should have art as their other food, even if it is a food for our souls, or as Shakespeare said, "music is the food of love". If the public cannot enjoy, or what is always said "understand" the arts, then something is wrong, either it's the public, or the art product itself. If they say "I don't get it", well, we artists have no rights to ask them to pay what they don't get. I am sure that we would be able to bring the classical music glory back to the golden age of Franz Liszt or Richard Wagner. And that can only be achieved in the Asian countries, where we have no tradition of classical music, so we are not tied and bound by how it should be presented. Just mentioning one example : we should remember that the tradition of "you should be totally silent during a classical music concert" only started with Gustav Mahler and Richard Wagner at the end of the 19th century where audience should not clap between the numbers of Kindertotenlieder so that they wouldn't break the intense silences between. In tropical countries, with at least a couple of insects flying around if it's an open air concert, how could we be that silent? In any case, the audience should be comfortable without disturbing the others, just like we watch a film in the cinema. Now we have tough competitors : internet with its iTunes, youtubes etc., where people can just listen and even WATCH the music at home. So, I am quite realistic that this won't be like the 1970s-90s, when recording sells millions, and performers' and composers' bank account kept dripping money while they were watching TV or sitting on their toilet. No, no, it won't be as easy as that. But we gotta work hard, and harder. .............................................................................................................................................. I am so happy and grateful with all artists involved in CLARA. Even in a free market now, I do believe in the potentials of Indonesian musicians and artists. As Walt Whitman says "To have great poets, there must be great audiences", so we should be a great audience for our own artists. Yeah, we still lack good musicians in a few instruments, especially in the orchestra, but in a competitive world and open ASEAN economic community starting 2015 this will soon change. The performance of the Indonesian (classical) musicians will improve quickly, since it's gonna be a tough, tough competition from now on, just like what all of us, Indonesians living abroad are facing. And we gotta believe in Indonesian musicians, employ them for the concerts inside the country, and keep the country's money inside the country. .............................................................................................................................................. The credits of CLARA in Tempo Magazine only go to the 3 creators : the writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma, the director & choreographer Chendra Panatan and me, but I should say that I am so equally and deeply grateful to the performers that has made it alive with their strong characters. Primarily I thank the 3 wonderful singers : Isyana Sarasvati, Widhawan Aryo Pradhita, Ivan Subuhwanto who took those difficult roles and could realize them with their own complex personalities. Next come the dancers Aprida Darmawansyah, Mariska Febriani and the "rapists" Mislam, Hendri Desmal and Lukas. A huge contribution from Jakarta Drum School is so greatly appreciated, they managed to do the aural and visual climax of the opera, since they went the extra mile and were willing to do what they normally don't do: be actors and choreographed on stage. And then Elwin Hendrijanto who has meticulously took those black dots on the music paper and put them all in the right places in his sampler to make exactly the sounds I wanted. Hey, thanks to my high school friend Prasodjo Winarko who lent his Mercedes Benz of 1996 from one of his collections of cars too! Perhaps next time you would allow us to destroy and explode it too on stage, eh pal? ;) . And then, I also like to express my gratitude to Willy Haryadi, my hypnotherapist who has avoided me from going crazy during my "dry" period. And I do learn a lot from him too. .............................................................................................................................................. Last but not least, I am thankful to all those musicians in the past and present who have inspired me. You might have heard influences from Shostakovich, Britten, Philip Glass, Pet Shop Boys or Queen in CLARA. And of course The Beach Boys! Yeah, without them, I wouldn't be the composer I am now. God Only Knows What I'd Be Without You!

A short note to all winners, my colleagues

Just came back from Surabaya, after the exhilarating, exciting and inspiring National Vocal Competition Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan (TPAS) for the whole weekend last week, organized as always by its initiator, Amadeus Performing Arts and its director Patrisna May Widuri. My impressions? Too much, too many to be written in words. Basically, I am more than happy to listen to all (yes, ALL) participants. Their vocal techniques are pretty accomplished. The only problems for some of them lie on their understanding of the music they sing, the interpretation and the grip for the style of the music. But each vocalist has something in them, and if I were obliged to write music for their voice, I know what kind of music suits for each and every one of them since they all have strong characters. As I always say, I can catch any elements in every artists in of all sorts and quality to inspire me. ............................................................................................................................................ But what's next, for those enthusiastic young vocalists, especially the "winners"? Well, I guess they should know that the last week's competition is the lightest, easiest thing they have done for their career, nothing compared to the real competition that awaits them now: the real life competition. It is right now that the real competition starts. Yes, of course all, or perhaps 99,9% of all musicians having a musical career today had gone through some kinda competition, whether it is purely as such, or auditions of some kind. While competitions are something normal in Europe, the Americas or already in many countries in Asia, it is still quite new in Indonesia, where we had, and still have the tradition of engaging artists based on family relations or friendships, not on objective qualities of the musician. For my new Violin Concerto to be premiered next month with the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra I had to hold an audition through youtube, and the winner was a young violinist of 17, Amadeus Giovani Biga who I didn't know at all before. I wouldn't be able to get his kind of quality among my relatives or friends. Many musicians are still weary, not to say afraid, to join one, and I even cannot think of a competition for instruments other than piano and voice here in Indonesia. Even some music teachers still prohibit their students to join one for being afraid of "losing". Well, if the only thing that matters is being the prizewinner, then I would discourage you to join one. Imagine, there will be only one, yes ONE winner among all the participants, no matter if there are 10 or 100 participants. What's the use, then? The answer is that being the first, absolute prize winner in a competition does not guarantee anything. Oh, then competitions are even more useless? Whazza diff between being the winner and the losers? Wait, wait. Read my thoughts further below and hope you'll understand my point. ............................................................................................................................................ TPAS hopefully would serve as the first step of their looong musical career journey upwards. Our previous (TPAS 2011) winners have gone to different directions, all upwards. Indah Pristanti (Senior Female winner) continues her voice studies in Vienna. Adi "Didut" Nugroho is enjoying his new career, not far from singing: becoming the conductor of the ITB University Choir, and still sings some times. Evelyn Merrelita stays in Surabaya, but is now the darling of our capital city; she's been invited several times to be a soloist by the Indonesia Opera Society, Nusantara Symphony Orchestra in Jakarta and all 3 of them have had the leading roles in my chamber operas. ............................................................................................................................................ But is it that nice 'n easy? Oh no, my dear. There is one thing that no competitions in the whole universe could do to filter the best musicians, and that is ATTITUDE. You can sing until all the windows break, you can move your fingers on the piano faster than the speed of light, you can win all the competitions on this planet and the others, but if your attitude is not exemplary, you won't make it as a musician. I will tell you the real truth: the more you become successful, the more "friends" you will have. Those "friends" will try to pull you down, since you are higher than them. They will stab you in your back, since that is where their position is: behind you. They laugh at you because you are different or outstanding, coz they want you to be the same as anybody else. They like to talk bad things about you, and if they can't find bad things, they will invent them, coz it comforts them, it soothes their worries. Remember : they don't hate you. They really really adore you, so much that they want to become you. It's called envy, and it comes from admiration, but a negative one. And you can defend yourselves from those things, my friends, with your attitude. The only way to eliminate your enemies is to make them your friends. Now, THAT you don't learn in ANY music schools on this planet. Remember, they consider you better than them from the musical point of view. But if you don't have a good attitude, you are definitely worse than them. As a human being. And in the end, that's what counts. Unfortunately, the most common mistake for upcoming young musicians is mingling with other people's business. You know why? Coz what people think or talk about you is NOT your business at all, it's THEIR business. So let them do their business, and you, my friends, yeah, you go on with your life. You, my friends, have a wonderful future ahead of you, having such big talents and coming from the richest country in the world which I am proud of. Show the world how great is Indonesian culture, and how you can give something that nobody else can give. You don't only share music in your life. "Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give, I give myself. I exist as I am, that is enough" (Walt Whitman) ............................................................................................................................................ Winners of the TPAS 2013 are listed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/361289260607185/ . Congratulations not only to Isyana Sarasvati, Theodora Amabel Beatrice, Widhawan Aryo Praditha & Nikodemus Lukas Hariono who won 1st prizes in their respective categories, but to all participants. By daring to participate and challenge yourself, you are already a winner. At least for me, coz I'm like that too, and I'm proud to have you as my colleagues and friends.