tags: philippines music instrument kulintang culture

Kulintang Tuning

The [kulintang] set consists of 8 gongs laid in a row, with no strict [tuning], since the music style doesn't actually need a strict tuning system. However, there are broad conventions for the tuning of kulintang.

Traditionally, kulintang is tuned in pentatonic scale without a strict pitch center.

• doesn't matter if it's a major, minor, or even modal scale
• is generally roughly pentatonic
• usually, gong 3 is the pitch center

Kulintang players choose gongs that would fit the aesthetic of the music style

• [composers] and performers cannot just choose 8 random [pitches] in order
• knowing how to choose the appropriate tunings will come after listening to plenty of music examples

Examples of traditional tunings

The following tunings are laid out in the following format:

[rough pitch relative to TET tuning] (perceived Western mode)

• the comparison to pitches and modes in [tet] tuning is just for ease of understanding among modern musicians, who share Western music notation and language as a lingua franca

G A C D E G A C (C major pentatonic)

• common in the University of the Philippines - College of Music
• Kulintang master Kanapia Kalanduyan tuned several kulintang sets in the college this way

G A C# D E G A C (A mixolydian?)

• Harold Andre heard this tuning in a Maranao video once

G A C D Eb G A C (C dorian?)

• Master Aga Mayo Butocan owns a kulintang set with this tuning
• no exact "key center" in the Western sense

A B D E F A B D (D dorian?)

• same as last example, just transposed

A Bb D E F A Bb D (D minor, A phrygian)

• Harold Andre's personal favorite
• [maguindanao] pieces often have long-lasting ostinatos on gongs 1 and 2, making them extra spicy

A Bb D Eb F A Bb D (D phrygian, A locrian)

• this scale is more commonly heard in Javanese music