Tan Sri P. Ramlee’s (1929-1973) music dominated the popular music scene in Malaya (prior to 1957 when Malaysia became independent) during the mid-twentieth century. The local communities during his time were captivated by his velvety crooning voice and musical style. P. Ramlee’s music featured strong influences from Western tonality, yet exuded the musical aesthetics of the cultures inherent in Malaya. His music was influenced by the demands and aesthetics of urban entertainment, the rich multi-cultural society and the socio-political atmosphere. Many of P. Ramlee’s songs were influenced by the background of its directors who suited his songs to the themes and storyline of their films. The interplay between these various power structures were important in shaping P. Ramlee’s music. In this article, I argue that although P. Ramlee’s music mainly utilised Western musical instruments, tonality, and harmonies, his music was also localised to the flavour of the Malay, Chinese, Ind.....

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The music acquisition and aesthetics of children in two Orang Asli villages, the Mah Meri of Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Selangor; and the Semai of Kampung Ulu Geroh, Gopeng has shifted from an oral tradition transmitted from ancestral lineages to institutionalized learning acquired from a teacher outside the Orang Asli cultural traditon. The interaction of Orang Asli children with friends from multicultural backgrounds, exposure to the mass media, and the evangelization of religious groups has also increasing dislocated Orang Asli children's music from a place-based and ethnic heritage to one "deterritorialized" space and time. These phenomena emerged due to the nation's hegemonic policies of assimilation, development and globalization since Independence in 1957. This article discusses the variable that influence and determine the music acquisition of Mah Meri and Semai children today. These variables include; issues of identity, worldviews and religion, tourism, locality, th.....

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The Jahai are one among 18 indigenous Orang Asli groups in peninsular Malaysia. They perform the traditional pinloin, a song and dance genre, during the pano ceremony (séances) and tree and fertility rituals. The song text and music of pinloin is taught to the Jahai halaq (shaman) by their chenoi (spirit guide) through dreams. Pinloin song text manifests the flora and fauna of the rainforest of Malaysia as depicted by the chenoi. Today (2016), the function of pinloin as a ritual enactment has shifted to a form of entertainment or cultural experience for tourists, visitors and visiting dignitaries. This change has resulted in a disruption in the transmission of the traditional pinloin song text. In this article, I argue that there is an increase in the use of the pastiche approach such as random sharing of fragments of song text, sporadic unfolding of narratives and little connection between the title and song text in pinloin song text compositions due to the influence of the ‘touris.....

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This article provides a critical reflection on the participatory approach methodology and the collaborative creation approach used in an advocacy project to sustain the musical heritage of the indigenous Semai community in Malaysia. These approaches were examined through the medium of an advocacy project that aimed to stimulate the interest of Semai youth in traditional music through relevance, engagement, and connection with their current musical interest and skills. The intention of the project was to also co-create new traditional music with the Semai youth through live musical interaction, improvisation and jam sessions with the research team. This article explored the research team?s use of the ?Participatory Action Research? (PAR) method, which involved planning, action, observation, reflection, and revision during the initial stages of our advocacy project. Our findings suggest a narrative style in discussing advocacy processes because they occur in a lateral than the linear or .....

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The Semai are a group of indigenous minorities, collectively known as the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia. They are well-known for their dream songs or jenulak that is taught by the gunik (spirit guide) to halak (shaman). The knowledge of how jenulak is transmitted, created, and succeeded becomes important today when researchers collaborate with culture bearers to sustain their musical heritage. This knowledge is integral to the sustainability of Semai musical heritage, indigenous concepts, and values. This article examines (1) how jenulak is transmitted from one generation to the next generation; (2) how Semai musicians create music; and (3) who can succeed as the next generation of Semai musicians. It utilises the revisiting ethnography methodology in which the researcher reexamines case studies through data from past transcribed fieldnotes and interviews with Semai musicians over a span of 10 years. In this article, I argue that the learning of jenulak is not limited to th.....

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Tan Sri P. Ramlee_s (1929-1973) music dominated the popular music scene in Malaya (prior to 1957 when Malaysia became independent) during the mid-twentieth century. The local communities during his time were captivated by his velvety crooning voice and musical style. P. Ramlee_s music featured strong influences from Western tonality, yet exuded the musical aesthetics of the cultures inherent in Malaya. His music was influenced by the demands and aesthetics of urban entertainment, the rich multi-cultural society and the socio-political atmosphere. Many of P. Ramlee_s songs were influenced by the background of its directors who suited his songs to the themes and storyline of their films. The interplay between these various power structures were important in shaping P. Ramlee_s music. In this article, I argue that although P. Ramlee_s music mainly utilised Western musical instruments, tonality, and harmonies, his music was also localised to the flavour of the Malay, Chinese, Indian and Ar.....

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The music acquisition and aesthetics of children in two Orang Asli villages, the Mah Meri of_ Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Selangor, and the Semai of Kampung Ulu Geroh, Gopeng has_ shifted from an oral tradition transmitted from ancestral lineages to institutionalized learning_ acquired from a teacher outside the Orang Asli cultural tradition. The interaction of Orang Asli_ children with friends from multicultural backgrounds, exposure to the mass media, and the_ evangelization of religious groups has also increasing dislocated Orang Asli children's music from_ a place-based and ethnic heritage to one of "deterritorialized" space and time. These phenomena_ emerged due to the nation's hegemonic policies of assimilation, development and globalization since_ Independence in 1957. This article discusses the variables that in.fluence and determine the music_ acquisition of Mah Meri and Semai children today. These variables include; issues of identity,_ worldviews and religion, touri.....

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One of the similarities between the ideas and philosophies underlying the musical compositions of John Cage and Hands Percussion Malaysia (HANDS) is their desire to explore musical sounds beyond the conventional and cultural norms of their time. Cage utilised Asian philosophy as inspiration for his aleatoric and chance music compositions, while HANDS fused sound art with movement. Founded on shi gu (shi: lion, gu: drum) drumming, movement and choreography, HANDS now experiments with a variety of musical instruments from various cultures to expand on the sounds and timbres produced in their performances. They merge extracts of musical elements from selected musical cultures, rhythmic drumming, and synchronised creative movements into their concert pieces. Some aspects of HANDS compositions are based on interculturalism, but many are new creations that decontextualise the musical instrument from its essentialised cultural-musical context. Based on interviews with HANDS_ artistic director.....

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