APSMER2017 PROCEEDINGS

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Proceedings of the 11th Asia-Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research (APSMER 2017) 19th to 21st July 2017, Melaka MALAYSIA The Zapin dance genre is widely performed in all the states of Malaysia, but is most popular in the state of Johor. It is taught primarily by traditional music performers who have learnt it through the oral tradition. However, performers on Western classical instruments are typically taught mainly through reading musical notation on scores, therefore may not have the opportunity to play such traditional music, since few Zapin scores for Western classical instruments are published. Playing of music from this genre may assist in developing students' technical, rhythmic and ensemble skills. By creating new scores of Malay Asli music, students learning to play Western classical instruments may develop an enhanced understanding of the traditional music of Malaysia. It is hoped that the creation of new scores will assist in promoting Malay Asli music, including the Zapin genre, so that it can be enjoyed by players of Western classical instruments, not only in Malaysia but also internationally. The purpose of this paper is to examine the genre Zapin as teaching material and to introduce a new written arrangement for an ensemble of Western classical instruments including flute, viola, and piano. The creation of a score of a new arrangement of Pantun Budi will assist in preserving the traditional music of Malaysia in a notated form. Literature A review of the literature returned various articles describing Zapin as a genre, as well as the characterisation of the typical instruments used in a traditional performance. One article describes the features of technical ornaments required in the performance of Pantun Budi on violin (Chye, 2016, p.222). However, there is little information about how Zapin music can be used as educational material. A search for published full scores of Pantun Budi with attached parts for instruments returned no results, either for an ensemble of folk instruments, or for an ensemble of Western classical instruments. Only piano scores with attached harmonic chords arranged by Malaysian composers were found. This indicates that this type of music is still transmitted primarily at the oral level, or through unpublished scores. Therefore, there is a need to create a new collection of fully scored Malay Asli music which includes genres such as Asli, Inang, Joget and Zapin. There is therefore a need to fill a gap in the in the literature for further preservation of this beautiful genre. The creation of a fully scored arrangement of Pantun Budi with separate parts closely resembling the original traditional form (although it is always performed in different ways by traditional performers) will fill a gap in the existing literature for Western classical ensembles. Discussion The Pantun Budi dance is the first of a series of works that will be included in a new collection of arrangements of Asli music for a Western classical ensemble. The arrangement has been created by Mohd Mustaqim Bin Abdullah, and Mohd Pauzi Bin Majid, and utilises the typical characteristics of each of the modern instruments, while observing the nuances of a traditional Zapin. In the original traditional folk ensemble, the roles of the instruments performing the main melodic lines and accompaniments, both harmonic and 30
Proceedings of the 11th Asia-Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research (APSMER 2017) 19th to 21st July 2017, Melaka MALAYSIA rhythmic, are distributed evenly between each part. In the present version for a Western classical ensemble (flute, viola and piano), all of the instruments perform the melodic lines which include stylistic ornamentations, in addition to their rhythmic, harmonic, and counter-melodic functions. The structure of this piece is consistent with the standard form of a Zapin: introduction, main section, and ending. The new arrangement of the Pantun Budi is in common-time, and uses a C harmonic minor scale. The introduction or Taksim commences with a flute solo, written in the tempo ‘rubato’. The middle Kopak section opens with piano (instead of an accordion) and continues with the viola (instead of a gambus). It uses the same melody (4/4 bars). Then in the Kopak section, the main melody is interlaced between flute and viola, while the piano performs rhythmic and harmonic patterns in the accompaniment. Each instrument uses a rhythmic pattern to imitate the percussion instruments (marwas, rebana) which would normally be used in a traditional performance of Zapin. The melodic line is alternately passed from instrument to instrument. Flute Techniques The opening, or Taksim is a cadenza-like passage that is played in a rubato style by the flutist (Figure 1). This florid and ornamental solo includes numerous acciacaturas, fast runs, and a gruppetto (turn). In the traditional Taksim, the flute would improvise a solo, however, in this arrangement, it has been fully written out for players of Western classical flutes. The flute part of Pantun Budi focuses on the second and third octaves of the instrument, therefore is suitable for an upper intermediate to advanced player. The part is readily sight-readable for an advanced level player but probably not for less experienced players. Strong tonal projection is required, as the flute solos alternate with the viola, and need to be heard above a driving, rhythmic piano accompaniment. A good command of a range of articulations is necessary, as the part includes tongued syncopated figures, staccato, slurring in pairs, as well as slurred semiquaver triplets. The flute part includes ornaments that are used typically in classical playing such as mordents, gruppetto (turn), and acciacaturas. Figure 1: Flute Excerpt from the Taksim in Pantun Budi. Viola Techniques In the new arrangement, the viola player can apply classical playing techniques while remaining true to the stylistic characteristics of Zapin. The viola score is written with a range of two octaves, which should normally not be difficult to play for advanced students. It also uses common note values such as semiquavers, triplets, and dotted rhythms, in addition to the same ornaments that are written in the flute part. In the final (coda) part of the piece, the arrangers use a specific rhythm pattern called the Kopak, which was originally played by the percussion section. In the viola part, this effect has been achieved by using the ‘double stops’ technique (the bottom note is the open C string) which can be executed by advanced students (Figure 2). 31
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