Gembira
joyful...
“Gembira” is an Indonesian word that means happy, joyful, or cheerful. It implies a light, positive emotional state—not deep ecstasy, but a simple, human sense of happiness. In everyday use, gembira often feels warm and innocent, like a smile, laughter, or a moment of relief.
About the Music
Another International mashup featuring instruments from Indonesia, Brazil, the Andes and America! Although the melody was concieved on the Native American Flute, I opted to record it on the D-50 instead. Rather than trombone, the baritone horn was played for the B and C sections—it has a nice mellower sound.
Did You Know?
My first musical instrument was the baritone horn rather than a trombone because I was too small to reach all the positions on a slide trombone! The funky old baritone I own now I saw in a pawn shop while living in self-inflicted poverty ages ago on Manhattan's Upper West Side and I had to have it!. It’s ancient and has some intonation problems on certain valve combinations but I actually did a few marching gigs with it and it shortly more than paid for itself! 
Instrumentation:
- Casio PX-S3000 - Sasando, Gender, Cello (bass), Pandeiro, Shaker
- Roland D-50 - Andes Flute (a.k.a. Quena)
© Richard Coffey - All Rights Reserved
About the Instruments
Sasando
The sasando is a tube zither, a harp-like traditional music string instrument native to Indonesia. The main part of the sasando is a bamboo tube that serves as the frame of the instrument. The stringed bamboo tube is surrounded by a bag-like fan of dried lontar or palmyra leaves, which functions as the resonator of the instrument. The sasando is played with both hands reaching into the strings of the bamboo tube through opening on the front.
Gendèr
A gendèr is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of a padded wooden disk. It has a delicate soothing sound—a bit like a cross between a toy celeste and a vibraphone.
Pandeiro
The pandeiro is a hand frame drum popular in Brazil. The drumhead is tunable, and the rim holds metal jingles. It is held in one hand, and struck on the head by the other hand to produce the sound. Typical pandeiro patterns are played by alternating the thumb, fingertips, heel, and palm of the hand.
Quena
The quena is the traditional flute of the Andes. Traditionally made of cane or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole. It is normally in the key of G and produces a very "textured" and "dark" timbre because of the length-to-bore ratio of about 16 to 20 (the Western concert flute with a length-to-bore ratio of about 38 to 20).
