A Malay Pop Songs of Deli, Minang and Minahasa: The Dynamism

of Songs Characteristics, the Identities of Linguistic, and Musical

Expression

Triyono Bramantyo

and Martarosa

Department of Music Education, Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta, Parangtritis Street 6,5, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Department of Music, Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang, Padang, Indonesia

Keywords: Malay Popular Songs, Musical Idioms, shared values.

Abstract: One of the varieties of popular music of Indonesia is the so-called “Nyanyian Populer Daerah” (Local Popular

Songs) which usually employs local dialect as well as typical melodic styles and expression. The number of

these kinds of songs are abundant as there are so many local dialects and musical expression can be found in

every region. This research focuses only on three local popular songs, two found in Sumatra island and one

found in North Sulawesi. The two genres found in Sumatra islands (Deli and Minang) were exceptional as

the main genres which got its influences of original Malay songs characteristics, meanwhile the other one was

from Minahasa, which has its own different melodic styles but provides the same expression in singing. This

research employed fieldwork as well as the study of the selected recordings available on the social media such

as Youtube, etc. During the fieldwork, semi structural interviews was taken to some selective figures of local

musicians and singers. The collected data from the fields then was interpreted and analyzed (object analysis)

using musical theory perspectives and aesthetics criticism. As it presented here, this research was not

comparative at all, let alone the readers enjoy the similarities and the differences of the genres. It was found

out that all of the genres shared the similar Malay musical idioms in traditional narratives as well as oral

cultures that show the dynamism of changes and sustainability of the local dialects as linguistic expression.

A suggestion for further research was as vital as there were still so many musical and aesthetics values

available to be searched out for future documentation and shared values

1 INTRODUCTION

Current situation of the utilization of music in the

society, i.e. the social function of music, having two

sides that might not be able to be separated from each

other. On the one side, the indication of commercial

factors as could be found in the music industry, and

on the other side, the cultural impacts that were not

less significant to be put into account. Meanwhile, the

commercial factors might not be avoided and become

a stimulant for music development in society, in

cultural aspects, popular music becomes an essential

aspect not only for social identity but also as the

important aspect for daily lives in society itself. First

of all, based on this statement, the general description

of popular music function had to be found.

Culturally, all popular music consists of a hybrid

of musical traditions, styles, and influences (Shuker,

2006). In this paper, however, Malay pop songs is

known as a genre of local pop, whereas in the North

Sumatra it is called as Gambus, in West Sumatra it is

more popular as Dendang, while in Minahasa or

Manado it is generally reknown as Pop Melayu. All

of these genres better known as typical hybrid music

due to the commonalities that they shared, for

instance, the particular local style of singing, the

lyrical style which is traditionally in the form of

pantun, i.e. a local strophic poem, as well as the

instrumentation and its techniques. Moreover, it has

social impacts such as highly moral value transmitted

down from generation to generation through their

musical culture.

The musical hybridity regularly emerged from the

remarkable mixed elements of foreign musical

cultures and the local elements that might already

there in the local culture of people long before they

merged and become a new genre that in this paper was

mentioned as Malay Pop Songs.

Bramantyo, T. and Martarosa, .

A Malay Pop Songs of Deli, Minang and Minahasa: The Dynamism of Songs Characteristics, the Identities of Linguistic, and Musical Expression.

DOI: 10.5220/0008557401910201

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Ar ts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 191-201

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

191

Accordingly, hybridity in popular music is

physically transparent since it is touchable and the

instruments as the medium musical are also playable.

Meanwhile, its non-physical elements can only be

listened to which then we might called it as the

musical idiom (Burke, 2016).

As it might be supposed, hybridity is a term

adopted from botanical science to describe the

assimilation of culturization considered as a natural

phenomenon. From this point of views, it is suggested

that the concept of hybridity might provides further

possibility for the cultural transformation known as a

discourse that perhaps unlikely to be understood as an

unexpected consequences (Burke, 2016).

In its micro perspectives, hybridism supposed to

be recognized as a process of division into three

phases or three-momentum. The first momentum

occured due to the cultural convergences through the

people movements or through books and other

artefacts, such as paintings. The second momentum

sometimes occurred on the occasion when another

cultural event happens. The third momentum

happened due to an integrated event which started

over with a convergence (the shape of unification)

visible in the fine arts and literary arts. This cultural

translation happened in the third momentum, in terms

of adaptation and cultural acceptance which is called

as something of a new type of genre (Burke, 2016).

Despite of hybridism, there is another term known

as syncretism which describes the occurring cultural

contact process between different musical cultures

that create a new musical idiom. There is a new

category so-called diasporic music that has become a

new trend of study extended from ethnomusicological

study object known as traditional music. Diasporic

music is also known as hybrid urban popular music.

According to Mark Slobin, as cited by Born and

Hesmondhalgh, there are three culture levels related

to national music culture. There are superculture,

interculture, and subculture. Three of these terms are

included as cultural studies and discuss hybrid culture

in the context of ethnomusicology and popular music

studies. Malay pop songs is included as trans-national

popular music category which has the hybridity traits

as an attached concept. According to Simon Frith,

popular music experts have changed the meaning of

hybridity to a new type of authenticity (Born and

Hesmondhalgh, 2000).

For example, in general popular Melayu musics,

it is found that hybridity in singing style comes from

the influence of Alqur’an recitation. Meanwhile from

the utilization of its musical instruments such as

violin, flute, accordion, gambus, and many more,

Malay pop songs is certainly can be classified as

hybrid music. Finally, the dynamism of songs

characteristics, the identities of linguistic and musical

expression will be elaborated here as to further

understanding the local local contexts as well as of

cultural identity, social expression, individual music

preference, etc.

Identified problems. In this comprehension, we

were invited to deeply think of musical interpretation

not only in terms of the music function and its cultural

context but also it social relation that provide

different contextual meaning as well. Moreover there

are possibilities as if the differences of shared values

are possibly resided in one context, even though there

are potentials as if there are musical preferences

between individual to individual musicians. In order

to further elaborating the genres then it is indeed

necessary to answer these questions below: 1. What

were the most of characteristics of Malay pop songs?

2. What were the significance musical expressions of

Malay pop songs? 3. How to describe the linguistic

characteristics and identities of Malay pop songs?

2 LITERATURE STUDIES

In this study several references were cited in order to

elaborate the discourse of musical style and the

sonority of the Malay pop songs and its

heterogeneous preexisting local musical style of Deli,

Minangkabau and Minahasa. It was certained that

specific identity in form of musical styles found in

different names. Malay pop songs of Deli was known

as gambus, in Minang it is known as gamat and in

Minahasa a call and response known as apotaria can

be used as a comparison with some exceptions.

Because the Minahasa styles could possibly have lost

its Malay elements such as pantun and its melodical

cengkok (vocal inflection). Overall, however, the

result of the object analysis shows that the most

visible style differences can be found mostly from the

individual singing style that exposed the differences

in sonority, timbre or the vocal quality of the singers.

Ian Cross (2003) explains music and local culture,

which affect its local musical characteristic in itself.

The then arising issue is how to comprehend the

musics with the local culture context. Naturally it is

necessary to overview the genre from the history,

value, convention, institution, and technology that

enable us to see the music to its cultural context

(Cross, 2003). Some of the readers may be confused

with the plural of “musics” and not singular “music”.

Recently in the discussion of local music we found

that it was categorized as world musics’ (with plural

‘s’) rather than just music. The term of “musics”

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however utilized because it is referred to music

diversity. Ian Cross explains more that music, at first,

is regarded as a singular phenomenon, which has the

relationship to human biology, mind and behavior.

However, in a second view, music become musics, a

diverse, multiple, and unknowable form within a

single unitary framework (Cross, 2003).

It is certain then that this sub-genre of music has

various characteristics of different local attributes in

each local regions. It also provides several social

functions, such as for ritual, ceremonial and festival.

Henceforth, in order to understand its characteristics,

it might not be separated from its cultural contexts.

Local pops are repertoires of songs created by the

local composers, involving local musicians and

singers in order to fulfil the musical taste of millieu

of society. In general, this subgenre of music contains

some typical music characteristics, and in its

development, it becomes a distinctive local pop music

style. Malay pop songs of Deli, better known as

gambus, although it has the same employment of

lyrical poems and rhymes which is similar to that of

the other local Malay pop songs, somehow it is

always have unsimilarity of musical elements from

one to another, for example the difference of technical

playing style of certain instruments.

In a recent discussion of the social functions of

Malay pop songs it was concluded that the genre had

lost its popularity and it was certained only some

elements were left in its very last function of music

for festival (entertainment function). However,

sometime in the 1950s, the ritual function of

“Manumbai” song was closely related to the

honeybees pickup ritual and traditional sickness

healing ritual called “Buang Ancak”. Riau traditional

song entitled “Makan Sirih” which was created in

1957 by Nizami Jamil and Tengku Syamsuddin,

known as a ceremonial song to greet the arrival of

influential guests. It was the same with that of ‘Mak

Inang’ that was utilized as entertainment for nobles

and princesses and ‘Joget’ that was functioned to

entertain all the guest in a social party.

A prominent musician of Gamat of Minang, in his

PhD dissertation assisted that a well recognized song

entitled Kaparinyo had its characteristic of 17th

century Portugues Cafrinho that was introduced to

Padang, West Sumatra, by people of Bengali and

people of Indian Tamil (Martarosa, 2017).

The questions emerged as of how to enable us to

understand the social function of music in a society?

Alan P. Merriam once made a statement which

brought us to his explanation of how he once said that

music is a universal behaviour (Merriam, 1964).

While John Blacking explained the function of

traditional music in society culture more clearly

through his comment when he said that every known

human society has what trained musicologists would

recognized as ‘music’ (Blacking, 1995).

The other definition of the function of music in

society is clearly described by Ian Cross that music

can only make sense as music if can be resonated with

histories, values, conventions, institutions, and

tehcnologies that enfold them, and it can only be

approached trough culturally situated act of

interpretation (Cross, 2003).

A young scholar of Malay original chants

(Nyanyian Melayu Asli) named Tengku Ritawaty

(2016) expressed more about the singing style of

Malay pop songs reknown as cengkok (vocal

inflections) which was according to her studies have

correlated techniques to some specific notes

ornamentations. Her dissertation entitled The

Development of Curriculum for Learning and

Teaching of Malay Original Chants in Formal

Institutions of Education (UPSI, 2016), was very

impressive and some of it had had helped improve

this article as well.

Vocal inflections as part of quality of singing can

only be obtained by individual singers through plenty

of elaboration of singing styles and techniques as well

as from understanding, participating, and extensive

experiencing in music practices. Specific skill in

understanding as well as creating of the pantun text is

a must in order to show his or her genuine expression

in comply with the typical vocal sonority and of

expressive individual singing style. It should be noted

by students of Malay pop songs that sonority and

individual singing style can only be achieved by

constant practicing and listening to the past songs

from legendary singers. Due to this reason, it is

suggested for them to listen as many as to past famous

singers singing style.

Moreover, it should be emphasized here,

however, that learning in singing style of Malay pop

songs should be done with consistency through

listening comprehensively to the best legendary

singers of the past in order for her or him to build her

or his own individual vocal sonority, individual style,

and individual vocal articulation quality of the most.

Not all of the past legendary singers have inborn-

sonority voices, it means that the clear voices as an

addition of extra musical abilities might obviously

made them famous future singers. Many more of

them achieved their popularity from a consistence

practice in voice training.

It should also be mentioned here the assumsion of

possibly correlation between vocal inflection in

Malay pop songs with that of vocal inflection in

A Malay Pop Songs of Deli, Minang and Minahasa: The Dynamism of Songs Characteristics, the Identities of Linguistic, and Musical

Expression

193

Quranic recitation. This relationship can be traced

back sometime since the influence of Arab that

emerged in 7th century Acheh and then widespread to

almost all of the Malay Peninsula. This followed by

the emergence of pantun, gurindam, and syair which

was certainly of Arabic literature and culture

influences.

Lili Lehman, a vocal teacher in Prague

Conservatory commented out that it is essential for all

who wish to become artists to begin their work not

only in singing but also in tone production, in Malay

pop songs singing, for instance to practice Quranic

recitation (Lehmann, 2006).

In addition with that W.E Haslam pointed out that

the voice that is produced badly or emitted becomes

worn fast, and is easily fatigued. Using an additional

exertion of physical force, the singer generally

attempts to conceal its loss of sonority and voice

stability (Haslam, 2007).

Melismatic in Malay pop songs normally in form

of syllables in texts sung in legato, with or without

accent, in some notes or even some measures within

one breath. In medieval chants it is known as musica

ficta which refers to any notes or measures with

accidentals notes that follow (Bent, 2002).

It was assumpted therefore of the importance of

vocal practice to stabilize sonor-voice quality. In

practice, normally students had their own method of

producing sonor-voice quality. It might be expected

that singers, in general, were also shared the same

experiences when utilizing the imitation method

practice from the past Malay pop songs singers.

Overall, the best sonority and vocal uniqueness were

one of the natural gifts and individual characteristics

that need to be developed.

3 OBJECT ANALYSIS AS A

METHOD

It should be understood that object analysis was to

discuss musical elements found in Malay pop songs

of Deli, Minangkabau and Minahasa styles. The

object analysis done based on the transcription of the

recordings and its interpretation of the five main

musical elements that consist of background,

sonority, musica ficta, articulation, and expression.

*) In coincidence with that the writers had

elaborated specific knowledge, skills, and expertise

not only with the help from the experts in the field,

but also from the literature reviews related the

scientific data that support theoretical study of Malay

pop songs. All of these then was triangulized such as

with interviews. Although newest books and journal

specific to this topic were hard to find, the older books

which related to and compatible with the topics

become important to this study.

*) This article thus provided us with the results of

the object analysis in the form of description on

accounts of discographical studies. Discographical

study is a study of recordings catalog in form of audio

recordings and audio-visual recordings. In

ethnographic study it is normal to provide the

description of music recordings, especially

recordings from certain artist or composers. Even

though not all of the expertists of Malay pop songs

have any discographic documents because they used

to be more active as stage artists and not as recording

artists. However some of them were active artists of

both of stage and recording artists. The discussion

then be elaborated as followss.

Any text or material outside the aforementioned

margins will not be printed.

3.1 Object Analysis of Pantun

The Malay language dissemination to the whole

nation believed to begin since the influence of the

Sriwijaya Kingdom was spread out to the whole

nation. Located in Palembang the kingdom was the

center of commerce and Malay language was widely

used as trade communication throughout the

archipelago. In the seventh century, accordingly

Malay language had become a kind of lingua franca.

Pantun can be described as a series of rhyming

stanzas, generally utilized as figurative expressions.

Below is an example of pantun found in Malay pop

song entitled “Si Hitam Manis”:

'Si Hitam Manis'

Kiri jalan kanan pun jalan

Ditengah-tengah pohon kenari

Kirim jangan pesan pun jangan

Kalaulah rindu datang sendiri

It cannot be denied that this pantun is familiar to

teenagers and young people who are falling in love.

Something in common to learn from this pantun is

that the first two lines of every verse are called

sampiran, while the third and fourth verses are the

main contents (isi) of the pantun. This kind of

structure can be categorized as the basic structure of

pantun or the simple form of rhyme.

Most of popular music, such as country, western

pop, rock, punk, soul, and hip-hop have rhymes.

Rhymes fulfil our lives, which is full of idiosyncratic

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echoes and relationship both intimate and general, as

can be seen in rhymes located in playground, bed, or

the internet. The popular era of rhyme has already

passed for them who only half-listen. This book by

Caplan recommends us to open our ears and find this

amazing rhyme culture again. From here, it can be

comprehended how rhymes, including pantun,

functional inside and outside of specific literature and

music genre, not only in individual works but also in

the culture itself (Caplan, 2014).

The definitive meaning of rhyme in hip-hop and

the classical form of pantun is very different though.

Contemporary hip-hop, often utilizing rhythmic

gestures and rarely emplyoing consistently the same

rhyme forms all the way through. On the contrary,

rhyme in pantun used the rhythm consistency of every

last syllable between sampiran (the first two lines that

are seemingly unconnected statement) and isi

(contain a message or lesson) sections. It indicates

that rhyme in hip-hop is unrestraine on rules (bersifat

bebas) that therefore it is seemingly more suitable to

the American literary culture. However, the art of

pantun is more suitable with the early development of

oral literary culture in Indonesia long before the

establishment of modern poem and poetry. TS Eliot,

in his poem entitled “Love Song of Alfred Prufrock”

mentions that the modernism does not disregard

rhyme but rebuild its technique (Caplan, 2014).

Moreover of the similarities between pantun and

rhymes in hip-hop, both of it may express the

happening of a particular condition. One of the

examples can be found in "Kadendate" (a traditional

call-and-response singing of Palu, South Sulawesi)

where the singers capable of creating spontaneous

rhymes of what they seen instantly. The same

phenomena can be found in contemporary rhyming

culture of hiphop rhyming.

What can be reflected from the above object

analysis of pantun is that there might be possibilities

that pantun culture can still be revitalized and

developed like that of rhymes found in hiphop,

however, it needs to improve new verses system, new

challenges, and new connections. Once these ideas

should be materialized, the art of pantun would

developed and composers might employ the

opportunity to experiment on the arts of pantun based

on three points mentioned above.

3.2 Object Analysis of Vocal Inflections

The very basic components in music are pitch,

duration, and loudness whilst the most important

quality in music is timbre or tone quality. These

qualities extraordinarily can be found in Malay pop

songs both in its instrumentation as well as in singing

style which is utilizing vocal inflections as the

qualities of musicianship of the singers. Below is

some examples of major vocal inflections found in

the history of music.

Grace notes is known as one of decorative vocal

inflections, which is played fast before the main tone

and is utilized to make the main note sounds more

expressive and colorful.

Figure 1. the example of Grace Notes

3.2.1 Passing Tone

Passing tone is one of ancient non-harmonic tones. By

the definiton, passing tone is a non-harmonic tone that

is approached by step (conjunct motion) from a chord

tone and resolves by step to another chord tone

without a change in direction.

Figure 2. the example of Passing tone

Neighboring tone is included as one of the ancient

ornamentation tones which only have the stepwise

motion. Meanwhile, the suspension tones belong to a

type of neighbouring tone that always appeared in the

strongbeat and is always as the same dissonant tone.

Figure 3. The example of Neighbouring tone

3.2.2 Pitch Inflections

In the early history of music, the utilization of flat and

sharp tones in keyboard was not written on the scores,

while usually the singers recognized them when to do

the pitch inflections of the composition.

Lines of Poetry

Figure 4. The example of poetry lines

A Malay Pop Songs of Deli, Minang and Minahasa: The Dynamism of Songs Characteristics, the Identities of Linguistic, and Musical

Expression

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In Bach Chorale notes with fermata above give

explanation of the end of poetry lines, which indicates

the end of a verse in the song.

3.3 Object Analysis of Song Form

Pantun in Malay pop songs naturally consist of four

verses, AABA. The first line is called antecedent (the

question) or the calling sentence while the second

verse is called consequent (the response). Second line

is similar with that of the first line but ends in tonic

which means the responding sentence. If the third

verse is not a repetition from the first melody, it might

be a new contrasting sentence with new melody. The

third verse is ended with supertonic or dominant

similar to the first verse. Sometimes, the third verse is

in contrast with the first and second verse. Otherwise,

it is only a repetition from the first verse. The fourth

verse normally identical to the second verse and

ended up with tonic do.

Generally speaking, the second verse is a

repetition from the first with a little alteration (if there

is any). The verse B is a contrasting theme which

usually be mentioned as chorus. There are posibilities

for the verses in B to change despite the similarities

from the previous verse and it also does not always

have to end up in tonic. In AABA song form, the

melodic verse can be the ‘call and response’

sentences. If there is any melodic verse which is the

calling sentence, it usually followed with responding

sentences which is usually called with an antecedent-

consequent melody. As it is mentioned above, the

melody pattern can be identical or diversed, it can

even be the repetition. The song verse is always ended

up with a cadenza (cadence) and a fermata.

3.3.1 Object Analysis of Musical Textures

In musical term, texture means the whole effect of

interaction between melody, rhytm, timbre, and

harmony. The texture that is known in music consists

of monophony, homophony, polyphony, and

heterophony. There are two categories in homophonic

music, that are rhytmic unison which is usually called

as homorhytmic and melody with accompaniment. In

rhytmic unison, the melody and its accompaniment

are processed simultaneously even though sometimes

there are melodic filler that is played by violin, flute,

and accordion. In Malay pop songs, the generic

format is vocal melody with accompaniment. In this

musical texture, the vocal melody is dominating the

accompaniment.

Figure 5. The antecedent phrase of Hitam Manis song

Mostly, in this sense, the domination of vocal as

the main melody is extreme. This domination

becomes the main focus, not only as a musical

character but also as the musical aesthetic as a whole.

This strong musical characteristic would make people

to recognize the Malay pop songs in general very

easily, although it is difficult to differentiate musical

characteristic between the existing genres.

3.3.2 Object Analysis of Cengkok

In Gregorian chants there is a musical term called as

musica ficta, which is somewhat similar to cengkok

in Malay pop songs. Cengkok is normally utilized as

personal improvisation on a melodic line so it is

certain that capabilities of every Malay pop singer is

differed due to its personal traits. In contrast with it,

in musica ficta, generally found in Baroque and

Gregorian chants, there is no individual improvisation

characteristic because basically, the composers wrote

down the inflections on the scores.

This study does not mean to equate cengkok

(vocal inflection) with musica ficta because cengkok

in Malay Pop songs is unrestrained by musical rules

(free inflections) and which usually utilized as

individual performer accidentals, while in medieval

music, specifically in ‘Aria’ (part of opera), musica

ficta are mostly used as editorial accidentals (written

melismatic).

According to Malay pop songs singers and

musicians cengkok is like flowers to the melody

(melodic inflections). Yet there is a difference

technicality in the production of cengkok and musica

ficta, even though both of it obviously have the same

foundation function, that is to beautify the melody. It

should be realized that in Malay pop songs singing

without cengkok is definetely weird (such the case

not found in pops Minahasa, though), the reason is

that because the quality of Malay pop songs singers is

measured by its individual cengkok singing skills.

So, the readers can easily recognized the singers’

capability by observing the soft, sensitive, and

melancholy type of cengkok that different to that of

the singers with the brilliant and sharp cengkok type.

This is usually related with the singers personality

and the listeners musical taste to judge the aesthetic

values of a performance.

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However, what can be described here is that it is

definitely true that in Malay pop songs, many of song

characteristics and genres required different type of

cengkok elaboration. There is particular situation

when a song required specific type of cengkok with

more soft nuance, seductive, varied with vibrato, and

does not required accentuate type of singing or

stacatto. It is to say to some extend that the eloquence

of a melismatic melody in this sense is to extremely

elaborate the melody with elaborative streching of the

syllables in the verses as beautifully as possible in

order to provide more seductive impressions to the

listeners.

There is another point to confirm that in Malay

pop songs, cengkok is one of the most significance

musical expression element and certainly the most

significance characteristic that signifying its

genuineness. Cengkok is thus the most unique traits

that differentiate this genre from another type of local

pops found in Indonesia. It also provides the quality

of the singers if he or she could exhibit the balance

between sonority and skills in quality of singing of

Malay pop songs.

Every Malay pop singer should comply its own

specific and unique traits of cengkok. This unique

traits in so many senses affected the singers style in

making its own type of cengkok. The particular

formula about ‘how to produce and beautify the

cengkok,’ however, could not be specifically

explained here. Nevertheless, it should be

emphasized that the spirit of understanding and

expressing a high sense of song text is the key.

Cengkok is an individual style, means that every

singer has its own style depending on his or her

abillity to create melodic ornamentation on the

existing melodic lines. Moreover, it has been pointed

out that the skill of the interpretation of a pantun text

is highly recommended.

As it was mentioned above that in Western music

theory, the synonym of cengkok is musica ficta, that

is an ornamental melodic line sung in melismatic.

John Stainer and William Barret categorized musica

ficta as one of necessarily most elaborative and

complex singing technique. Elements of musica ficta

normally be written on a chant or melody in forms of

some notes that embellished a syllable without having

certain notes (extended syllable) (Stainer and Barrett,

2009).

A further explanation of melisma can be described

as follows, a syllable can be sung on more than one

note (syllable extension or melisma) and also two

consecutive syllables of different words can be

connected to the same note. The punctuation of the

lyric has to be attached to the word before the graphic

extension or melisma (Susan et. al, 2005).

Meanwhile, Oxford Dictionary of Music (2006)

explained that a melisma is a cluster of notes to be

sung to a syllable. It is a bit difficult to write the exact

notes for cengkok due to the difference type,

interpretation, and skills of the cengkok that is

individually sung by the singers.

After listening, observing, and analysing some

examples of repertoire from Malay pop songs and the

existing discographic object analysis study such as

gambus, gamat, and joget, it can be commented out

that certain Malay pop songs have it form of cengkok

ornamentations as follows:

Acciacatura: a kind of grace notes in the form of

a note or notes which anticipate the existing notes

from the song syllable. It normally combined with

another vocal technique named double or triple

appogiatura.

Appoggiatura: It is also included as one of the

grace notes which is followed the notes before or after

the existing note. Appogiatura is one of the essentials

notes found in almost Malay pop songs. Hence, it is

necessary that every Malay pop singer should

mastered this technique. According to Baird, the

definiton of appogiatura is: “Of all the ornaments of

singing, none is easier for the master to teach or for

the student to learn than the appoggiatura. In addition

to its pleasing quality, it alone in the art enjoys the

privilege of being heard frequently without becoming

tiresome to the listener, so long as it does not exceed

the limits of good taste as prescribed by those who

understand music.” (Julianne C. Baird, 1995. p. 88).

It should be noted here however that in Malay pop

songs, appoggiatura is generally unwritten but is

sung when a singer expresses to a cengkok as an

individual singing styles. In Malay pop songs, the

function of appogiatura is:

As a connector between melody to make it more

sonorous and also performs the sole identity of Malay

pop songs. This kind of expression creates the sense

of melismatic characteristic of Malay pop songs due

to the utilization of legato/slur and staccato.

As a melodic filler that enriches the flexibilty of

the melodic lines so that it does not feel like empty at

all. To enrich the harmony variation by elaborating

passing tones horizontally towards the vertical

harmonic notes. To produce a more lively and

brilliant melody within Malay pop songs. Instead of

appogiatura, there are also trill in melismatic or

syllables extention contexts which is included as one

of the Malay pop songs characteristic. As the results

of object analysis in some Malay pop song

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repertoires, it can be found that the method to insert

‘trill’ in Malay pop song are as follows:

Appoggiatura usually elongate the first note of the

melody and is sung louder than the following melody.

To make a appoggiatura as a longer variation, it

is normally started with the softer voice, followed by

cresendo and decresendo troughout the melody.

If appoggiatura is located on the strong beats, it

usually followed by the accented notes.

Typical a long melody is usually preceded by

appoggiatura. However, as an exception not all

appoggiaturas in Malay pop songs are followed by

grace notes and trill.

Mordent can also be found in Malay pop songs

repertoires. Mordent is an ornament comprises of two

types, namely upper mordent and lower mordent. In

spite of it is theoritically unwritten in Malay pop

songs, however, it is practically often be sung.

According to object analysis of the repertoire

examples and current discographic study, it is found

that another existing ornamentation is slide notes, i.e.,

notes to be slidden towards the main notes in a slur

technique. In contrast with that of appoggiatura,

these slide notes is always moving in stepwise.

Similar to that of appoggiatura, however, slide notes

is also consisting of two or three notes lead to the

original notes of the melody.

Trill, known as the swirling notes, is often unseen

on the scores. Although it is theoritically unwritten on

the scores, however, all of the Malay singers

intention is to produce a soft and memorable sound,

not too excessive though, so that it expressed the

pleasantness of the melodic lines. All of the new

singers must be able to create trill in certain syllables

in order to produce the most beautiful voice

inflections. However, it should be noted here that if a

'trill' is anticipated by an appoggiatura, then the

appoggiatura has to become the first note of the 'trill'.

This article does not elaborate the examples of such

notes ornamentation in a specific order but the reader

should explore its listening comprehension to the

genre in order to understand the object analysis of

these kinds.

Furthermore, such addition notes found in the

discographic object analysis showed that some of the

ornamentation notes were contributed to the

establishment of cengkok that created its own shared

values in Malay pop songs.

From the study of object analysis above it can be

concluded that cengkok in Malay pop songs is the a

highly specific individual trait of unwritten notes

ornamentation that mightbe described as the so-called

a free improvisation. Cengkok might occured in the

elongation of syllables which generally unwritten and

sung in melismatic (utilizing slur or legato). Cengkok

is similar to that of a musica ficta and constituted as

the typical characteristic of Malay pop songs sung in

profoundly melismatic.

3.4 Object Analysis of Articulation

The articulation in singing the syllables in Malay pop

songs is unique and different from the daily

pronunciation of formal languages. The authors

opinions and ideas of articulation in these studies

were concluded from a selective ideas of a semi

structural interviews and the field notes.

To begin with, all the articulation of the Malay

pop songs text is as the determiner of the expression.

It means that the correct articulation will define the

text more clearly to the audience. Although it sounds

normal, in contrast, it needs specific practice for a

singer to be capable of precise articulation. It is

suggested that to do consistent vocal practice is a

necessary requirement to achieve clarity and purity of

articulation. The ability does not apply naturally, but

is achieved through consistent vocal training. The

tone quality is applied naturally, but the clarity of

articulation should be trained due to it correlation

with corrected text pronounciation.

It is understood that Malay pop songs singers

should conveyed with the correct and clear

articulation in each syllables so that the words are

better perceived by the audience. In another words, a

good articulation will gives impression of a clear text

articulation so that the musical expression of the song

can be delivered beautifully.

To be specific, it should be emphasized here that

the significance of vocal practice to gained clarity and

purity of articulation is prerequisite. The indication of

readiness in singing comes from the feeling of

comfortable that can be achieved with a constant

daily vocal practice in certain time. Usually singers

uses the solfa technique, which consists of do, re, mi,

fa, sol, la, si, and do to trained their vowels

pronounciation (vocalization). Within solfa

technique, only vowels a, i, e, o are available, while

the word ‘u’ gives less attention. It is not a

coincidence if the vocalization of ‘u’ is easier to reach

rather than other vowels.

It should also be emphasized of the significancy

of consistence voice training and such to avoid things

that will corrupt the vocal chord, like the occurence

of voice stroke. There is also an interesting opinion

that vocal articulation abillity can be gained from the

childhood Alqur’an recitation experience. Although

there is no scientific explanation of it yet, this opinion

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is reasonable, in one possible thing since cengkok and

articulation are also trained in the Quranic recitation.

If it is examined in vocal articulation theory, Lilli

Lehman, a vocal theorist, explains that all vowels

must keep their point of resonance uninterruptedly on

the palate. All beauty in the art of song, in cantilena

as well as in all technique, consists chiefly in

uninterrupted connection between the tone and the

word, in the flexible connection of the soft palate with

the hard, in the continually elastic adjustment of the

former to the latter. This means simply the elastic

form, which the breath must fill in every corner of

resonating surface without interruption, as long as the

tone lasts (Lehmann, 2006).

The abillity to sing the articulation or diction well

is a part of the unseparated vocal technique that must

be learned. The dynamic control, accent, timbre

control in singing expression are also included in the

aspects of vocal technique.

Harriete Brower argues regarding the definition of

vocal mastery. It is said that to become a master in

vocal, one has to develop his voice that it is under

complete control and then he can do with it

whatsoever he wishes. He must be able to produce all

he desires of power, pianissimo, accent, shading,

delicacy and variety of color (Brower, 2005).

Further explanation of the importance of

articulation or diction is also defined by Herriete

Brower (2005) by saying that the greatest thing about

a song is the words. Words inspired the music, they

were the cause of its being. Imagine, when once

words have been joined to music, how other words

can be put to the same music, without destroying the

whole idea. The words must be made plain to the

audience. Every syllable should be intelligible and

understood by the listener. Diction is so absolutely

paramount.

Moreover, Herriete Brower also describes that the

satisfactory diction creates something deeper than a

song itself. It is the giving out of one's best thought,

one's best self, which must animate the song and carry

it home to the listener. It touches the heart, because it

comes from one's very inmost being, a creature of

mood. One cannot sing unless one feels like it.

Brower furtherly explain that the singer have to be

inspired in order to give an interpretation that shall be

worth anything (Brower, 2005).

3.5 Objective Analysis of the

Expression

Flat expression in singing Malay pop songs is not

recommended here but on the contrary expression is

another significance objective to be gained by the

Malay pop singers. The objective can be achieved by

intimacy (rote memory) to the songs and to its

musical structure from its introduction, transition, as

well as to the instrumental parts. For instance it is

suggested to consider that in certain types of Malay

pop songs, the introduction section is very

significance, utilized not only as the song

introduction but also as the guidance for the singers

to go through the actual melody.

It should be pointed out here that the autonomous

understanding of all musical aspects in introduction

section of the song is very important. Some mistaken

might unconsciously occured when the musicians

failed to cooperate with the singers. From the ideas

above, its also clear of how necessary for the singers

to be able to relate the unity of cengkok and song text.

These two elements have close connection to the

feelings, emotions, and appreciation when the singers

expressing the Malay pop songs text.

Furthermore, to be more specific, the authors have

provided to the readers with further explaination of

the relationship of the text with feelings, emotions

and appreciation in order to give birth to good

expressions in Malay pop songs. Suzanne J. Beicken

argues of how the singer should have to understand

the text of the song. Therefore the singers should to

rote the text throughoutfully before starting to sing it

in order to be able to express its meaning. On this

point, as pointed out by Beicken, ignorance or

carelessness is no excuse. Accordingly, musical

notation cannot represent all the fine points of

expression which the affect demands: the art of

declamation must make up for this deficiency

(Beicken, 2004).

It is understood then that when several notes are

sung to one syllable, the performance is called

melismatic singing. Every long or short extension of

a syllable contains more than one note is called a

melisma (Beicken, 2004). Due to this reason, the

melismatic character and its relation with the text is

comply one to the other. When there is long

melismatic does occured, the correct calculation is

needed for intersect the syllables in each breathing. In

singing, the intersection of syllables caused by off-

breathing should be avoided.

There is also another fact that singing is an art

typical with the expression directly from the heart.

The emotion, feeling, and expression are the human

pure elements. Furthermore, it is said that instincts

have a prominent role for every singer to express

emotion and feeling with voice. For this utilization of

the voice to take effect on the character of melody, as

distinguished from ordinary speech, it expressions

should also purely instinctive (Taylor, 2007).

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In addition, in the essence of artistic point of view,

art itself is different from the reality, but the depiction

of the reality through profoundly meaning in the art

that is understood by people. To reached emotion of

the artistic substance is therefore quite significance.

In that case, D.C Taylor mentioned that art is not

reality. But art is the ability to portray reality through

the comprehension of all the emotions that any person

may be forced to encounter. To acquire the ability to

simulate the entire gamut of human emotions, which

far exceeds what any individual can ever expect to

personally encounter, is to successfully play one's

craft to its fullest artistic realization (Taylor, 2007).

4 CONCLUSIONS

Firstly, it should to be revealed that as the literature

artwork, pantun must be fullfiled by a criteria as one

of the pinnacle of intangible heritage of Malay

culture. According to Mohd. Rashid Md Indris

(2011): “Pantun is known as an old Malay poem that

not only full of meanings but also full of aesthetic

values. These aesthetic values available when the

listener are sensitive to the formated structure and its

language style in a piece of pantun. The formated

structure is not build arbitrarily but it needs

consideration and sensitivity in all of its aspects,

including the lexical preference, syllables, and the

limited verses.”

Secondly, in Malay Pop Songs, the musical

texture normally followed the pantun formal

structure, that is A-A-B-A. The melodic lines that is

dominated by vocal as the main melody has become

the main focus not only in it musical character but

also as the musical aesthetic as a whole. All of these

musical characteristics provide people to recognize

Malay pop songs in its general context.

In contrast with musica ficta, cengkok is more

freely, and basically included as a personal musical

trait of individual singer. Because of the eloquence of

cengkok sung in melismatic, thus the elaboration of

melody with elaborative stretching lines of the

syllables provide us with a seductive impression.

Finally, articulation of Malay Pop Songs should

be applied naturally, the tone quality should have the

clarity of articulation and correct text pronunciation.

As a suggestion then, it should be noted that the

genre which is in fact can be classified as one of the

oldest type of popular songs should eventually be

preserved. Moreover, in order to sustain the existence

of this genre, a formal action in form of transmission

is very significant to be taken.

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