Google has used its homepage illustrations, referred to as “Google Doodles”, to highlight all sort of unsung heroes from around the globe. Today’s Google Doodle honors the 108th birthday of Daeng Soetigna, a music teacher who is considered the father of modern angklung music thanks to his innovative redesign of the ancient Indonesian instrument.
The angklung, which has spread throughout Southeast Asia but originated in West Java, is an instrument made from bamboo that historians believe has existed since the 7th century. But by the beginning of the 20th century, angklung music was starting to die out in Indonesia in favor of other, newer types of instruments.
Daeng was a western-educated teacher from Bandung who taught at a Dutch school. In 1938, he had the ingenious notion of creating a new form of angklung, one that was tuned to the diatonic scale. He was inspired by the handbell choirs he had seen performing while living abroad and thought that diatonic angklungs could be used in a similar way as an inexpensive way to teach music to young students in West Java.
His redesign soon caught on and the angklung became used extensively not just in music education but also in mainstream musical performances. Angklungs soon become a well-regarded instrument and was integrated into orchestral performances. In 1955, Daeng’s angklung ensemble performed at the historic Asia Africa Conference and In 1964 he performed at the Indonesian Pavilion at the World Fair in New York, which helped introduce angklung music to the rest of the world.
Thanks to Daeng, the angklung remains an important and vibrant part of Indonesian musical culture. In 2010, UNESCO designated the angklung a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
