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Introduction The key concepts constantly echoed amongst my Balinese artist friends are perkembangan 'creative flowering', kesenangan 'pleasure', menjiwai 'transmitting spirit', masolah 'characterization', pengalaman 'experience', nusup 'penetration', desa kala patra 'place-time-context', and bayu sabda idep 'energy -voice-thought (perception).'1 In Balinese aesthetics, the prevailing creative process involves ways in which spirit enters into form. My own interest has been as a musician, to experience musical phenomena from within, setting my compass with these indigenous (or at least what my Balinese colleagues consider to be intrinsically Balinese) concepts ofperformance theory. Balinese people generally use the word "world" with a qualifier, to specify whether they are speaking of buana agung 'macrocosmos', or 'greater world', buana alit 'microcosmos' or 'smaller world', or dunia kita, literally 'our world', but often meant to suggest 'the contemporary world community '. I apply this multiple usage to the practice of"world music," a process ofreflecting inward, outward, and around. I try to differentiate my own intellectual concerns, intellectual concerns of people I know in Bali, my intuitive sense, and intuitive sense as expressed by people in Bali. A few of my own "intellectual" concerns going into this study have been how stylization affects form and perception; dramatic characterization as manifested musically, choreographically, and r. Perkembangan, in the Indonesian language, denotes "development," and nowadays refers to anything~a building project or commercial growth, for instance. However, in the realm ofart and religion, the word takes on the more poetic and mystical meaning ofthe root word, kembang 'flower', with more subtle and varied connotations. The words kesenangan and pengalaman are Indonesian but are commonly used in Balinese discussion. Menjiwai and desa kala patra are found in both languages, whereas masolah and nusup are Balinese words and concepts. Bayu sabda idep is a Kawi 'Old Javanese' phrase and a common theme in Balinese philosophical and aesthetic discussion. Introduction I xvu spiritually; subtle acoustic phenomena as kinesthetic artistic properties; and performance as an integral collective aspect ofcommunity life. To sample a few evident contemporary Indonesian intellectual questions : does sacredness lie in properties, activities, or contextsr How can we apply the generally accepted conceptions of pelog and stendro tuning systems to Balinese vocal music? How can artistic change and innovation progress, reflecting exposure to the rest ofthe world and contemporary influences , within indigenous parameters. Sardono Kusumo (1978) has further extended this question into issues ofthe environment. My own intuitive musical directions related to this study have to do with vocalization as it relates to focused consciousness states and the imagination . This has shed light on the nature of breathing, timbre, flow of vibrations throughout the body for vocal expression, sound as density and shape, and the character of sound in space. These personal musical interests relate directly to my experiential and analytical work in Indonesia, and elsewhere. My questions have been how to use sound stylistically, how forms are generated from-and lead to-other than human realities, and how consciousness states are expressed formally. Forms are generated from a pool of resources that covers the entire living and ever-changing culture, and crossbreeding is always occurring; so to understand the references and points ofdeparture used in the evolution offorms, one needs a broad base. One can penetrate the generative process in a culture as contexts shift and adaptations occur. Perhaps the best way to get into the various intuitive processes of Balinese artists is through the acntal learning process. The manner in which music is taught reveals some of the deepest levels of the creative process, and it is through tl1at unfolding of musical reality that a teacher imparts what he or she can of the subtle and intuitive information necessary for musical knowledge and fluency. One way to gain some understanding of a Balinese artist's intuitive sense (as opposed to one's own sense) is to undergo a degree oftraining following traditional methods within the indigenous cultural context. Although the distinction between anyone's personal and cultural intuition is quite ambiguous, it seems a fruitful path for the intercultural artist to pursue. In any case, within any musical performance style exist various intrinsic teaching methods. The learning process is, in many ways, the music. I have attempted to avoid applying artificial systematization to these writings, but rather to bring information to the reader's attention in gradually shifting contexts of discussion. I feel this attention to specific little details , each in their living context, rather than overall generalizations, reflects the revelatory process in Balinese aesthetics and learning. I...

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