Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Vol. 35 No. 2 (2025)
Representasi, Transformasi, dan Negosiasi Budaya dalam Media, Seni, dan Ruang Sosial Kontemporer

Articles

Visualization of Pitch in Slendro and Diatonic Scales

https://doi.org/10.26742/panggung.v35i2.3874

Published 2025-06-01

  • Christabel Parung
    • ,
  • Acep Iwan Saidi
    • ,
  • Yan Yan Sunarya
    • ,
  • Riama Maslan Sihombing

Christabel Parung
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Acep Iwan Saidi
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Yan Yan Sunarya
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Riama Maslan Sihombing
Institut Teknologi Bandung

Abstract

This study investigates the visual representation of pitch in two musical scales: the diatonic scale and the Javanese Slendro scale. This research shows how scales are perceived and depicted visually by engaging five young adults in a free-drawing study. Using Jakobson’s intersemiotic translation for analysis, participants were provided with sound stimuli first and asked to draw their visualization of scales using lines, form, and color. The results revealed that the diatonic scale was consistently represented with structured and sequential visuals, indicating familiarity and linearity. On the other hand, Slendro was visualised with more significant variability and fluidity. This study shows that the visual representation of the musical element of pitch does not stand alone but is also influenced by the musical scale and the listener’s familiarity with it.

Keywords

Cultural perception, diatonic, musical scales, slendro, visual representation

PDF

References

  1. Achmad, Z. A., Ida, R., & Mustain, M. (2020). A virtual ethnography study: the role of cultural radios in Campursari Music proliferation in East Java. ETNOSIA : Jurnal Etnografi Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.31947/etnosia.v5i2.9787
  2. Adorno, T. W. (1995). On some relationships between music and painting. The Musical Quarterly, 79(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1093/mq/79.1.66
  3. Cardew, C. (1961). Notation—interpretation, etc.. Tempo, (58), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0040298200045873
  4. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  5. Damono, Sapardi Djoko. (2018). Alih Wahana. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
  6. Dusi, N. (2015). Intersemiotic translation: Theories, problems, analysis. Semiotica, 2015(206), 181–205. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2015-0018
  7. Ikhwan, N. (2023). Kerukunan Hidup Melalui Seni dan Budaya Nusantara. Panggung, 32(4), 480. https://doi.org/10.26742/panggung.v32i4.2301
  8. Hope, C. (2020). The future is graphic: Animated notation for Contemporary Practice. Organised Sound, 25(2), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771820000096
  9. Ishida, N. (2010). A stage in the development of Central Javanese gamelan music. Indonesia and the Malay World, 38(111), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2010.489366
  10. Mueller, R. (1986). Javanese influence on Debussy’s “Fantaisie” and beyond. 19th-Century Music, 10(2), 157–186. https://doi.org/10.2307/746641
  11. Prasetya, H. B. (2012). Fisika Bunyi Gamelan: Laras, Tuning, dan Spektrum. BPI ISI Yogyakarta.
  12. Schuiling, F. (2019). Notation cultures: Towards an ethnomusicology of notation. Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 144(2), 429–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/02690403.2019.1651508
  13. Siswadi. (2013). Nirmana Nada Bertautan: Alih Wahana Rupa Menjadi Bunyi. Panggung, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.26742/panggung.v23i2.96
  14. Zidan, M. H., & Utami, W. S. (2023). Learning the diatonic scale in a mini gamelan musical instrument based on augmented reality. International Journal of Computer Applications, 185(43), 49–55. https://doi.org/10.5120/ijca2023923246