Monday, August 25, 2014
Experience-Playing the Kolintang with one hand
I have had the unique experience of playing the Kolintang with one hand. The piece I was required to play is one of Mozart's most famous symphonies of all (I forgot the name, ITS IN GERMAN!!) which was very difficult to accomplish with one hand. Lesson to be learned, never play the Kolintang with one hand. It's also quite tiring for your lone hand. :)
About the Kolintang
Kolintang is a xylophone type instrument from North Sulawesi made famous by blind musician Nelwan Katuuk after world war II it is played around the globe by cultural music enthusiasts.
There are four types of Kolintang Instruments:
The Kolintang's name is derived from the local words, TONG (low pitch note), TING (high pitch note) and TANG (moderate pitch note). Therefore in the local dialect to say lets play Tong Ting Tang is Mangemo Kumolintang.
The basic requirements to playing a Kolintang is just to be able to read music and the ability to hold the mallets right. Unfortunately the Kolintang is a very sensitive instrument and does require extra care when playing. When playing a note, the mallet must not remain on the wood after hitting but pulled back after a short 'tong, or ting, or tang'.
There are four types of Kolintang Instruments:
- The Melody (Dark Green)
- The Tenor (Light Green)
- The Base (Brown)
- The Alto (Dark Green)
The Kolintang's name is derived from the local words, TONG (low pitch note), TING (high pitch note) and TANG (moderate pitch note). Therefore in the local dialect to say lets play Tong Ting Tang is Mangemo Kumolintang.
The basic requirements to playing a Kolintang is just to be able to read music and the ability to hold the mallets right. Unfortunately the Kolintang is a very sensitive instrument and does require extra care when playing. When playing a note, the mallet must not remain on the wood after hitting but pulled back after a short 'tong, or ting, or tang'.
Monday, August 18, 2014
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