The Senses and the Sacred:
Islam and Contemporary
Indonesian Popular Music
How does music reflect the historical, cultural, religious
and cross-cultural influences that shape a people or
place? How is this specific to the influence of Islam in
This lesson plan is designed to explore the role Islam has played in the
evolution of two musical forms in Indonesia. Students will learn about
two genres of Indonesian music—Qasidah Moderen and Dangdut—by
reading a background essay, completing guided questions, and participating
in class discussion. Music examples will be analyzed in terms of
instrumentation, lyric content, and purpose.
Students will be able to:
- Identify and discuss historical, socio-economic, political, and
religious influences that have led to the current form of Qasidah
Moderen and Dangdut.
- Recognize Islam’s continuing role in shaping popular and youth
culture in Indonesia.
- Understand music as a reflection and purveyor of cultural and
- Draw cross-cultural comparisons in American culture.
Two class periods
Visual Arts, Literature and Performance
Laurie J. Sears
Diversity and Community in Contemporary Society
Michael G. Peletz
- Begin by drawing students into a general discussion
of the connection between music, culture, appearance,
and the messages of music using the following
- What can visual elements signify in musical
performance: what can a musician’s clothing, hair
style, makeup, and other visual features represent?
(Discuss Punk, Rap, Hip-Hop, Country or Gospel
musicians, for example.)
- How are visual elements connected to the kind of
music that the musician might play, if at all?
- What social functions does music play in society?
- What influence can musicians have on listeners?
- Project or pass out a copy of the image of the guitarist
from the band Ria and ask students to respond to the
- What religion do students think this woman
- What style of music do they think she plays? Why?
- How do you think the music would sound?
- Where would you expect to see this kind of
Point out elements of appearance: In Indonesia the
head-covering is called the jilbab. Notice also that the
woman’s dress is floor-length, and her sleeves go to
her wrist. Despite these conservative elements the
woman’s dress appears to be made of a shiny satin
type material, enables the viewer to see some of her
shape as a woman, and is covered in sequins; the woman is wearing make-up to enhance her attractive
features; she is playing an electric guitar.
Discuss these seeming incongruities. Conclude this
part of the discussion by making certain that the students
have considered the following questions:
- What do you think Islamic music would sound like?
- Without having heard it, what do you think the
music would sound like?
- Play the song “Boleh Bersuka Ria” by the band Nasida
Ria while students still have the picture of the band’s
guitarist to contemplate.Ask students if what they heard was what they
expected? Why or why not?
- Provide students with the Qasidah Moderen
Background Sheet and Guiding Questions, and
Comparison Chart. Ask students to work in small
groups to read the essay and chart, and complete
the questions. Bring students back together to
discuss the responses. End the discussion by
posing the following question:
- What do you predict will be the future for the
relationship between Islam and contemporary
popular music in Indonesia? Why?
- What does this mean for the influence of other
forms of popular music in Islamic communities in
- Play “Begadang” by Rhoma Irama, and “Boleh
Bersuka Ria” by the band Nasida Ria, again. Ask
students if they can discern elements that were
mentioned in the essay? (Consider instrumentation,
complexity/simplicity of music, language)
Students will be assessed on responses to Guiding
Questions, participation in small group work, and whole
Using heterogeneous groupings will support English
Language Learners and students with special needs in
reading the essay and responding to guiding questions.
Oral review of key points and comparison chart will provide
further support for content information.
Use of various learning modes are possible through visual,
auditory and text based materials. A variety of extension
lessons are provided for a range of diverse students.
- Writing Assignment: Be an Ambassador
Your assignment is to introduce Americans who have
not studied or visited Indonesia to the country, and to
get them interested in it. Write a short article introducing
Qasidah Moderen music, saying why it is interesting
and what you like most about it. When people visit a
new country for the first time, they generally want to find
lots of new things to see, hear, taste and do, and some
things that remind them of home, too, that they can
relate to without difficulty and which will keep them from
being too homesick. So, be sure to tell your American
audience what they will find new and fascinating, but
also familiar and comforting, in the history, style and
message of Qasidah Moderen music (and Dangdut, too,
if you would like to discuss that style as well.)
Play additional clips from Indonesian music. Have students identify similarities and differences among the selections. Have them identify elements that seem to suggest
western or local influences in a review of the selection.
- World Music Network, The Rough Guide to the
Music of Indonesia, Cat. No. 1055, release date
October, 17, 2000. (focus is track 4, “Begadang” by
Rhoma Irama, and track 14, “Boleh Bersuka Ria” by
- Smithsonian/Folkways, Music of Indonesia 2:
Indonesian Popular Music—Kroncong, Dangdut &
Langgam Jawa, Cat. No. 40056, release date July
13, 1992 (focus is the Dangdut selections found on
- Excerpts from Qasidah Moderen group Nasida Ria’s
album Keadilan are available for free from their
German record label Piranha Records. There’s also a
picture of the band, from the cover of the album.
- Cross-cultural Extension:
Review the relationship between Islam and popular music
in Indonesia and ask students if this relationship seems
familiar to them, or something unique to Indonesia.
Discuss the relationship that exists between American
Rock ’n’ Roll, R&B, Soul music, and even Hip-Hop, and
the historical and musical characteristics each of these
genres adopted from Gospel music. Have students examine
the evolution of these contemporary American music
forms by developing a series of musical segments that
highlight the characteristic elements of the traditional gospel
in contemporary popular music. Suggestions include
track selections from Sony Music Entertainment Inc./Compilation,
Music from the Motion Picture The Ladykillers,
T Bone Burnett Producer (2004).
- Blending the Secular and Sacred in Music:
Direct students to create or choose a sacred/moral lesson
text and a secular text to set to a beat, as might be
done with Rap, Def Poetry, or as a step in creating more
traditional song lyrics. Possible sources include religious
texts of their own faith, traditional myths or legends,
poems, chants or cheers from sports teams, or an original
Have students select one beat from the samples available
on www.reeldrums.com or similar website to use
for both texts. Have students provide a brief description
of why they chose the text and how the selection of the
beat influences the sound and message of the secular