Javanese Dance and Gamelan Traditional Music Workshop in Yogyakarta

A truly fascinating experience. I highly recommend that anyone visiting Yogyakarta set aside an extra half-day for this. The gamelan master's daughter speaks excellent English, and the entire lesson was very detailed. We got to try five or six different instruments, and you don't need any musical background to have a great time. Gamelan is an ancient musical form, often using a pentatonic scale, that features an ensemble of various percussion instruments like gongs, metallophones, and drums. It frequently accompanies Javanese religious ceremonies, shadow puppet plays, or dance performances. Debussy was heavily influenced by gamelan, and you can even hear K.K. Slider play a version of it in Animal Crossing. The playing experience is very enjoyable, almost meditative, due to its relatively simple rhythms and abundant repetition. The teacher mentioned that a Chinese band called 'Wo Qi' (which means 'I'm angry') came to learn for a day last week, which was quite amusing. We looked it up and realized it was 'Frog Pond' (Wa Chi)... We'll definitely try to catch their performance if we get the chance when we go back.

Fantastic workshop by Pak Padriman & interpreter Gaudiya! Various gamelan elements are explained in great detail and Pak gently guides you through playing the different pieces of music. The location is also gorgeous (view of the rice fields) and is used for cultural education for children as well. During my session, some local children joined in to play a 15-piece gamelan score together. Some musical knowledge or experience is convenient, but not required. I highly recommend checking out this workshop!

We had a wonderful half-day experience at the workshop. Previously we had the opportunity to watch gamelan performance, so it was really special for us to try playing it ourselves. Anjang and Unggul were very great teachers and taught us two traditional gamelan pieces. The music was very soothing and has mental healing power. Would recommend this workshop to anyone who's interested in authentic Indonesian music :)

Very special experience to dive in traditional local music and feel the culture. The teacher taught in a easy-to-follow way, the translator is very helpful. We tried 5 different instruments and played basic melodies together.

Mr. Padriman, the master, is a very kind-smiling, highly knowledgeable, and experienced musician. It was truly an honor to hear him play and to perform with him. Gaudiya and Argya, his assistants and interpreters, were also very kind, skilled, and helpful. I spent a very pleasant three hours with them—both the venue and the music itself were perfect. Thank you for the uplifting experience! I warmly recommend it to everyone; there’s nothing to worry about!

super fun experience. must not miss and highly recommend if you enjoy culture 😃

I had the fortune of receiving a private lesson from master Pak Padriman. He was friendly, courteous and patient with me as he gave me instructions on how to use different instruments. Guide Gaudiya, herself knowledgeable in music, was very friendly and professional and helped translate the session and i got more out of the time thanks to her support. The workshop takes place in his home studio in the suburbs of Yogyakarta and the view to the field from the balcony alone makes it worthwhile to visit the place. Highly recommended for anyone curious to gain more insight into the Javanese culture.

10/10 experience! If you are at all musical, you will love this fun and well-planned gamelan workshop. Pak Pardiman is a master musician and teacher, truly an honor to learn from. He easily adjusted the workshop to our level and encouraged us as we learned several different gamelan patterns and tried different instruments. Gamelan music is different from what we're familiar with, but once we got the hang of it we got to play so much by the end! Pak also shared about the role of gamelan in Indonesian culture. Our interpreter, Fify, spoke excellent english and was a joy to speak and play with. The rural setting is beautiful (and cooler than downtown Yogya). We had a great time and whole-heartedly recommend this experience!

What a fun and chill experience learning the gamelan! The hosts shared all about gamelan and the different instruments 👍 We got the chance to try out the different instruments and play many songs together! My partner and I have music background so we could pick upre very inspired after this to learn more about playing the gamelan 🤩 Highly recommended to anyone who is interested to pick up a new instrument and have a gamelan taster!

We enjoyed learning the Yogyakarta traditional dance! The instructor is a professional traditional dancer. She was very friendly and fun, and taught the moves slowly, but the dance itself was hard to do for first-timers (which is totally fine - the point is to try 😆). Welcome tea and snacks were also provided. Would recommend if you're interested in learning traditional dance! The place was in a narrow alley so it might be hard for cars to go in, but parking is available.