Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; Indonesian: Keroncong, Dutch: Krontjong) is the name of a ukulele-type instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound chrong-chrong-chrong comes from this instrument, so the music is called keronchong), the band or combo or ensemble (it called as keronchong orchestra) consist of a flute, a violin, a melody guitar, a cello in pizzicato style, string bass also in pizzicato, and a female or male singer.
The name "Kroncong" may be derived from the jingling sound of the kerincing rebana, as heard in the rhythmic background to the music created by the interlocking of instruments playing on or off the beat. This background rhythm runs faster than the often slow vocals or melody, and is created, typically, by two ukuleles, a cello, a guitar and a bass. These instruments, especially the pair of ukeleles, interlock as do the instruments in a gamelan orchestra, and it is clear that the musical traditions of Indonesia have been applied to an orchestra of European instruments. Formerly, they use also the Portuguese musical instrument called cavaquinho, a four steel stringed musical instrument that looks like a guitar. Cavaquinho was then modified into prounga, a 3 nylon stringed instrument with low pitch and macina, a 4 nylon stringed instrument with high pitch.[1]
One ukulele, called the "cak" (pronounced "chak"), may be steel-stringed. The instrumentalist strums chords with up to 8 strums per beat in 4/4 rhythm. The off-beat strums are often accentuated. The other ukulele, called the "cuk" (pronounced "chook"), is larger and has 3 gut or nylon strings. The instrumentalist may pluck arpeggios and tremoloes using a plectrum, and the on-beat is emphasised. As a set, the cak and cuk form an interlocking pair that mostly gives Kroncong its characteristic kron and chong.
The cello may have 3 gut or nylon strings and the chords are plucked rapidly, often with a unique skipped-beat using the thumb and one finger. This instrument then adds both rhythm and tone. The guitar may play similarly to either cak or cuk, but plays are often extended scalar runs that provide an undulating background to a chord or bridge chord changes. The bass is often played in a minimalist style reminiscent of the large gongs in a gamelan.
On top of this rhythmic layer, the melody and elaborate ornamentation is carried by a voice, flute, or violin. The violin or flute are used to play introductory passages that are often elaborate. The fills and scalar runs are both faster and more elaborate than the guitar's. The vocalist sings the melody which is slow with sustained notes in traditional Kroncong.
The repertoire largely uses the Western major key with some arrangements in the minor. One departure from this occurs when Kroncong orchestras play Javanese songs (Langgam Jawa). Javanese music ordinarily uses scales and intervals that do not occur in Western music. Kroncong Jawa maintains Western intervals but adopts a 5-tone scale that approximates one of the main Javanese septatonic scales. When playing this style, cak and cuk leave their characteristic interplay and both play arpeggios to approximate the sound and style of the Javanese instrument the siter, a kind of zither. The cello adopts a different rhythmic style as well.
Kroncong music began in the 16th century when sailors from the Portuguese Empire brought Portuguese instruments and music to Indonesia. Lower-class citizens and gangs, commonly called buaya (a reference to "buaya darat" or crocodile on land, a term used to describe playboys to this day) adopted the new musical styles. Eventually, they were assimilated by the upper-class citizens. Paul Fisher writes,
The small kroncong guitar, also the name of a music, is derived from the Portuguese braguinha, sharing its root with the Hawaiian ukulele. Kroncong music is believed to have originated in the communities of freed Portuguese slaves in the 16th century. European influence from this time can also be heard in the music of the Batak people of North Sumatra. From the end of the 19th century, the beginnings of guitar accompaniment incorporated within a distinctly Indonesian idiom in music came from Sumatra, South Sulawesi and elsewhere.[2]
Kroncong (currently spelled Keroncong in Indonesian) is now considered as old-fashioned folk music by most Indonesian youth, although efforts have been made since the 1960s to modernise the genre by adding electric guitars, keyboards and drums, notably in the so-called Pop Keroncong sung by Hetty Koes Endang. The melancholic spirit of traditional acoustic Kroncong (similar to Portuguese Fado music) has been recorded by Samuel Quiko and the members of his Jakarta-based Krontjong Tugu Orchestra, who have performed at the well-known Indo festival 'Pasar Malam Besar' in The Hague. Considered as an Eurasian art form, Kroncong features prominently each year at the Tong Tong Fair. The genre is also being evolved in new directions by Indo artists in the Netherlands.[3][4]
Since Portuguese sailors landed in Malacca (1552) and Portuguese slaves were freed in Kampung Tugu (north Jakarta) in 1661, a genre of music that was to become known as Keroncong has started to take shape. However, real keroncong music has not existed yet at the time. It only began after 1880, when the main instrument of modern keroncong, the ukulele, was invented in Hawaii.[5][6] The so-called "long evolution" of 1552-1879 was a preliminary stage of development, leading to the creation of keroncong as we know it in 1880s. Since then, keroncong is regarded to be in a stage of "short evolution" by Indonesian critics.
The last short evolution was divided in four short evolution periods,[7] i.e.
Tempo Doeloe means Oldies Time (tempo=time, doeloe=oldies). Komedie Stamboel was an Indo touring comedy company that performed folk entertainment which was very popular during the end of nineteenth century (1891–1903) especially in East Java.[8] It performed 1001 night tales, European folk tales, as well as local folk tales. Examples are: Ali Baba, Cinderella, Si Pitoeng, etc. The tours were made by railway as well as ships. They toured to Malaysia and all parts of Indonesia. Between the scenes, there were musical intermezzos such as marches, polkas, waltzes, as well as kronchong music called stamboel.
During the Era of Tempo Doeloe or the Time of Stamboel Songs (1880–1920), there were 3 types of Stamboel Songs, i.e.: Stamboel I (Nina Bobo, Potong Padi, Soleram); Stamboel II (Si Jampang, Jali-Jali); and Stamboel III (Kemayoran). Stamboel songs usually had 16 bars and were played in a fast tempo (like Allegro, as fast as 110 tick per minute). The songs were played in the following song structure:
Stambul I: Songs in this category include Terang Bulan, Potong Padi, Nina Bobo, Sarinande, O Ina Ni Keke, Bolelebo, etc. The structure is A - B - A - B or A - B - C - D (16 bars):
- |I,,, |,,,, |,,,, |V7,,, |
- |,,,, |,,,, |,,,, |I,,, |
- |I7,,, |IV,,, |,, V7, |I,,, |
- |,,,, |V7,,, |,,,, |I,,, ||
Stambul II: Songs in this category include Si Jampang, Jali-Jali, etc. In Stambul II, a typical song opens with a broken chord of I. Then, first 3 bars are in tacet position. At the end of the first 4 bars, it directly enters a sub-dominant chord (IV). The structure is A - B - A - C (16 bars):
- |I . . . |. . . . |. . . . |IV,,, | (Open with Chord I, then in tacet position within the first 3 bars, after that directly to chord IV)
- |,,,, |,,,, |,, V7, |I,,, |
- |,,,, |,,,, |,,,, |V7,,, |
- |,,,, |,,,, |,,,, |I,,, ||
Stambul III: The title Kemayoran is a Stambul III category, wrongly referred as Keroncong Asli. It consist of 16 bars. The structure is Prelude - A - Interlude - B - C (16 bars):
- Pr |I,,, |,,,, | Prelude 2 bars
- A1 |,,,, |,,,, |
- A2 |II#,,,|V7,,, | 'Modulation 2 bars to the Double Dominant
- In |,,,, |IV,,, | Interlude 2 bars
- B1|,,,, |I,,, |
- B2|V7,,, |I,,, |
- C1|,,,, |,,,, |
- C2|V7,,, |I,,, ||
After World War I, American Popular Music came to Indonesia through ballroom music in hotels. The musicians mostly came from the Philippines (such as Pablo, Sambayon, etc.). The new American Pop Songs, consisting of 32 bars, influenced the local music. For example, the Indonesian national anthem, Indonesia Raya (composed in 1924), consists of 32 bars. Also, the Bengawan Solo was composed by Gesang in this era. After a while, the center of development moved to the city of Solo in Central Java. There, the type of kroncong has slower movement (like Moderato, uses 80 ticks per minute).
Langgam Keroncong: This structure has a binary form like pop songs: Verse A - Verse A - Bridge B - Verse A (32 bars long). Here is the structure:
- Verse A | V7,,, |I,,, | IV, V7, | I,,, | I,,, | V7,,, | V7,,, | I,,, |
- Verse A |V7,,, | I,,, | IV, V7, | I,,, | I,,, | V7,,, | V7,,, | I,,, |
- Bridge B |I7,,, |IV,,, | IV, V, | I,,, | I,,, | II#,,, | II#,,, | V,,,| Modulation to the Double Dominant as usual in Bridge of pop song
- Verse A |V7,,, |I,,, | IV, V7, | I,,, | I,,, | V7,,, | V7,,, | I,,, |
Stambul Keroncong: Stambul Keroncong has a unique structure (A-B-A-B') x 2 = 16 bars x 2 = 32 bars, a modification of Stambul II that only has 16 bars. Stambul II's 16-bar style is doubled into 32 bars to adjust as new standard song 32 bars.
The structure of Stambul Keroncong is as follows: sign - means tacet
- |I - - - | - - - - | - - - - |IV,,, | Opening break chord I and directly enter chord IV
- |IV,,, |IV,,, |IV, V,|I,,, |
- |I,,, |I,,, |I,,, |V,,, |
- |V,,, |V,,, |V,,, |I,,, |
- |I,,, |I,,, |I,,, |IV,,, | these 16 bars is repetition of first 16 bars, but no tacet position, it means in full play position
- |IV,,, |IV,,, |IV, V, |I,,, |
- |I,,, |I,,, |I,,, |V,,, |
- |V,,, |V,,, |V,,, |I,,, |
Keroncong Asli The Keroncong Asli has A - B - B' structure. The songs consist of 8 rows, and 32 bars all together. The first PRELUDE consist of 4 bars played instrumentally (same as in the 7th row, there is a 4-bar modulation in the middle. Then comes the INTERLUDE (4 bars long too). The structure is as follows:
- |V,,, |I, I7, |IV, V7, |I,,, | prelude 4 bars taken from 7th row (B3)
- (A1) | I,,, | I,,, | V,,, | V,,, |
- (A2) |II#,,, | II#,,, | V,,, | a modulation as long as 4 bars to the Double Dominant
- |V,,, | V,,, | V,,, |IV,,, | interlude 4 bars become standard for all songs
- (B1) | IV,,,| IV,,,|V7,,, | I,,, |
- (B2) |I,,, | V7,,, | V7,,, | I, I7, |
- (B3) |IV, V7, |I, I7, | IV, V7, |I,,, |
- (B2) | I,,, | V7,,, | V7,,,| I,,, |
Kronchong Cadenza This harmony theory explains about cadenza, i.e. a chord progression for full or half stop of a song. There are 4 candenzes in the classical harmony theory, i.e. as follows:
- a. Perfect Cadenza, i.e. chord progression of V-I for full stop a song
- b. Unperperfect Cadenza, i.e. the song ended with chord of V7, such as II-V7, IV-V7, VI-V7, etc.
- c. Interrupted Cadenza X-VI, t.e. if the song ended with chord progression such as V-VI, II-VI, etc.
- d. Plagal Candenza, i.e. chord progression of IV-I like "Amien" in prayer
- e. Even Tierce de Picardy is not a cadenza, but it usually used in the end of a minor key with full close in a mayor key
- f. Kronchong Cadenza, was developed in kroncong music, i.e. a chord progression of I-I7-IV-V7-I will ended a kronchong song.
Kronchong Music continued to develop in the vicinity of Solo City. Some kronchong musicians moved to other parts of Indonesia, like Yogyakarta or Jakarta.
Javanese Genre Gamelan and other Javanese music also influenced kroncong. The characteristics of Javanese music include Javanese Modal Tune (Pelog or Slendro Pentatonic Mode); Javanese Modal Tunes; the use of a sitar (a string instrument plucked like lying harp); the use of a kendang (a Javanese drum was played by plucked cello); the use of a kempul (a metal instrument like a gong but played in a lying position); the use of metal and wood marimbas; the use of gongs; and the unique style of Javanese singers. The structure of the songs still follow the pop structure i.e. Binary Form: A - A - B - A or sometimes A - B - C - D with 32 bars long. In 1958, a composed named Anjar Any (1936–2008) composed a famous song "Yen Ing Tawang Ana Lintang" (If there is a star in the sky), and performed together with Waljinah, the winner of a local radio singing contest at Solo.
Keroncong Beat In 1959,Rudy Pirngadie and his Jakarta-based group (Yayasan Tetap Segar / Foundation) that used the Kronchong Beat for accompanying various songs, local and foreign music. In 1964, he introduced kroncong music to global audiences at the New York World's Fair USA. Idris Sardi, an Indonesian Violin Virtuoso, presented a hit pop song entitled I left my heart in San Francisco with a kronchong beat. However, he was fined by the US Music Authority due to a violent copyright claim.
The Kronchong Beat promote various songs, including use of major and minor scale, quartel or triple beat, use more various chords, etc. Exactly, global music genre could be performed by an accompanying Kronchong Beat.
Campur Sari In 1968 at Gunung Kidul, an area near Yogyakarta, a local musician named Manthous introduced Campur Sari, a mixture of gamelan music and kronchong. Now, it is developing in the vicinity around Solo, i.e. Solo City, Sragen, Ngawi.
Kronchong Koes-Plus Koes Plus, a famous rock-pop musician originating from Solo, introduced kronchong music in rock style (1974). The Group produced albums in kronchong-style music. One of the song is entitled Kroncong Pertemuan which combines Stamboel II and Langgam Kronchong (see above for each structure).
[edit] The Era of Millennium Keroncong (2000-now)
Even kronchong music in the millennium (since the year of 2000), Until now, the pop music industry has not produced popular kroncong music. However, some groups have been experimenting on it. One group is called "Keroncong Merah Putih". This Bandung-based kroncong group experimented with elements of rap music combined with kroncong music in the background. One such artist, Bondan Prakoso, fused kroncong and hip-hop with his group, the Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black. In 2008 at the Solo International Keroncong Festival, Harmony Chinese Music Group created a different atmosphere to Keroncong by adding Chinese musical instruments. They called the genre Indonesian Chinese Keroncong.[9]
