CAMPURSARI : THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIAL CHANGE

Hafizhah Insani Midyanti

dice.midyanti@gmail.com
Study program Art Education, The School of Postgraduates UPI

Yudi Sukmayadi
yudi.sukmayadi@upi,edu
Department of Arts Education Music - FPSD
Indonesian University of Education

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between Campursari and social changes that
occur in the society, and the effect of technological developments on social changes
and Campursari. The purpose of this paper is to explain some social changes due to
technology. Social change caused by technology can lead to cultural changes,
people’s way of life, etc. In the ptocess of social changes, cultural diffusion
(invention or discovery from one region to another) occurs in Campursari. It causes
cultural equity, a situation in which many groups adopt western culture in place of
their own customs. This happens in Campursari’s music in which the music combines
between gending, laras, langgam,lyrics of Javanes and the western music with the
help of technology that can create a new style of popular music. In addition,
technology facilitates the spread of Campursari such as through CDs or VCDs and
cassettes that are affordable to the public.

Keywords : Social changes, Campursari, technology

Preface

Social change is a complex and multifaced phenomenon. This is due to a change

in one area affects other areas of social life. It is expected to take a unified view in
the process of social change. It can facilitate a clear understanding the role of various
factors which has a collective impact on the process. We can aprreciate and
understand the changes that occur and identify the correlation and causal effects of
the underlying factors in the social change.
The process of social change is inevitable due to the following factors: discovery,
inevitable conflicts in society, technological determinism, technological invention,
the role of knowledge, beliefs and values, cultural contact, cultural diffusion, and
social movements (Mutekwe, 2012).
Social change requires several factors, one of which is the viewpoint that humans
must constantly overcome challenges in the environment. Intelligence, curiosity,
anxiety, discontent possessed by humans also lead to new discoveries and the desire
to explore and learn through an accident and experiment. People unwittingly plays a
role in social changes in other ways. In society, personal succession is the source of
change.
According to Weber as directed by Turner (2000) in Wadiyo, et la (2011), art is a
social action. Weber’s social action interpreted by Turner is an individual action as
long as it has a meaning or subjective meaning for himself and directed to the actions
of others. An individual action directed to inanimate objects doesn’t fall within the
category of social action. Social action is an action that is clearly directed to others.
Social action may be a mindfulness or subjective action that may occur due to a
positive effect of a particular situation, or a deliberate act of repetition as a result of
the effect of similar situation or a passive agreement in a particular situation. Art,
including inside is music, in any form is always aimed to others.
Clifford Geertz (11983) in his book, Local Knowledge: Further Essays in
Interpretative Anthropology in the section Art of The Cultural System, explains the
art is used to show relationships which are semiotic. The art forms are means of
expressing social life or the disclosure of specific mental experiences into matter so
that others may also experience it. The semiotic process according to Geetz is how
the experience to create the form, then the form is interpreted again. Art is a cultural
phenomenon because art is a social expression that embodied (Wadiyo, et all, 2011).
According to Dasilva in Wadiyo, et all (2011), the existence of music life in the
society, actually shows the phenomenon or condition / socio-cultural conditions of
society. Seeing how the music used as means of art by the society, will know the
social phenomenon of the society. Music, as proposed by Dasilva, is also a dialectic
between the music itself in terms of current music with the music of the past or
between types of music at the same time as well as between music with social
phenomena of society, in relation to how the music is used by the society.
The term Campursari refers to a phenomenal history in the development of music
in Indonesia which is crossover or mixture of several musical genre of Indonesia.
Campursari is a music that develops in the region of Central Java to East Java that
modifies Javanese Gamelan music instrument that is made specifically using the
frequency of western music which can be combined with diatonis western musical
instruments. The grip of music used in Campursari, favored by the local community
because of its using Javanese style and gending.
This paper will be discussed about how the relationhip between Campursari with
social changes that occur in the society, as well as how the effect of technological
developments social changes and Campursari.

Research Problems
The scope of this paper is to discuss the social changes and its concepts, the
history of Campursari, and the affect in the spread of Campursari through technology
in social change.

Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

A. Theoretical Analysis
Social change means a large number of people engaged in group activities and
relationships that differ from situations where they or their parents were involved in
some time before (Vago, 1992). Hans Gerth and Wright Mills (1953) define social
change as something that may occur in the cause of time in the role of the institution
or the order consisting of their social structure, appearance, growth and decline.
Society is a complex network of relationships where all members participate in
various levels. This realtionship is change, and behavioral changes occur at the same
time. Humans are faced with new situations that they must respond to. This situation
reflects several factors such as the introduction of new techniques, new ways of
earning a livelihood, dwellings shift and new innovations, ideas and social values.
Thus, social change means modifying the way people work, raising families,
educating and governing teir children, and seeking the ultimate meaning in life. But
the conceptualization of social change can be approached from several directions
(Mutekwe, 2012).
Many sociologists see the social change as a change In the structure of society or
change in social structure. Morris Ginsberg (1958) views it as a change in social
structure, such as the number of societies, the composition or equilibrium of parts or
types of a society. For examples, depreciation in the number of families, termination
of domainal economy with the development of cities, the transition from the level of
live to the social class. Seen from a different perspective, social change is a
significant change in social structure (i.e patterns of action and social interaction),
including the consequences and manifestattions of the structure contained in norms
(rules of conduct), values, cultural products, and symbols (Moore, 1968).
It is understandable why the social structure (the network of organized
relationship between individuals and groups that define shared rights and
responsibilities) is emphasized in change. Unstable social structures, tightly
integrated or harmonious but unstable, are loosely folded and not torn apart by
disputes. It can be emphasized that social change is not only a change of structure,
but also in the function of society. Social change consists of modifications in a social
system or subsystem within a structure, function, or process over several time periods
(Allen, 1971). Similarly, according to Davis (1959), social change means change as it
happens in social organization - the structure and function of society. Johnson (1960)
explains in detail that social change is a change in the structure of social systems,
what changes have been stable or relatively unchanged.
Some authors regard social change, especially in relation to specific changes in
social relationship. Maclver and Page (1949) argue that social change implies
changes in social relations, in the way humans relate to one another. Ronald Edari
(1976) combines elements, social structures and social relationship in his definition.
He argues that when people talk about social change, they imply two things: changes
in the constitution of social entities over time, and changes in relationship between
and within the entity over time. Nisbet (1969) views social change as a succession of
time differences in an ongoing identity. Robert Laver (1977) considers social change
as an inclusive concept that refers to the changing social phenomena at different
levels of human life from individual to global.
The same difficulty with the definitions of social change as mentioned above is
the issue of reification, the tendency of equate the abstraction of the conception of
reality with actual reality. The elements emphasized in the definition, which include
social structure, community function, social relations, process forms and social time
can be isolated but there are some difficulties in understanding the changing of social
change. The term change is often used loosely, and it has been illustrated, the
definition is very much and contradictory (Mutekwe, 2012). Vago (1992) proposes
that social change should be conceptualized as planned or unplanned qualitative or
quantitavie change process in social phenomena, which can be described in six parts
of the continuum, consisting of interrelated anaytic components of identity, level,
duration, direction, distance, and the rate of change. The identity of chane refers to
certain transformed social phenomena such as practices, behaviors, attitudes, patterns
of interactions, authority structures, and productivity levels, definite patterns of
election, prestige and stratification. The level of concept of change describes as the
location within the social system in which certain changes occur. Some levels may be
addressed as individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and societies. The term
of duration means the time period in which the form of change remains in its original
state. This may refer to the phnomenon of long-term or short-term change. The
notion of the direction off change may indicate progress, growth or decline. This
pattern can also be linear or evolutionary, occuring in cycles or stages or in
accordance with several other patterns. This may also be a simple fluctuation or
variation on a particular theme. Distance is based on three-part scheme of
comprehensive and incremental or marginal revolutionary change. The rate of change
can be based on a changing scale as sooner or later, continuous or spasmodic, orderly
or irregular (Mutekwe, 2012).
Some theorists argue that change in society goes according to an invisible force
in which humans have no control. Such an argument is centered arouund the cultural
determinants themselves or on some aspects of cultural and social structures such as
technology, stratification systems or economic system. Moore (1974) likened humans
to be problem solvings animals, who see the norlam adjustment of culture and social
structure as challenges and work to create new and adoptive ways, new tools,
techniques, rules, values and patterns in social relations.
It should be noted that the process of social change is inevitable due to the
following factors: discovery, inevitable conflicts in society, technological
determinism, technological development, the role of knowledge, beliefs and values,
cultural contact, cultural diffusion, and the occurrence of social movements. Social
changes requires several factors, one of which is the viewpoint that humans must
constantly overcome challenges in the environment. Intelligence, curiosity, anxiety,
discontent possessed by humans also lead to new discoveries and the desire to
explore and learn through an accident and experiment. People unwittingly plays a
role in social changes in other ways. In society, personal succession is the source of
change.
The term Campursari refers to a phenomenal history in the development of music
in Indonesia which is crossover or mixture of several musical genre of Indonesia.
Campursari is a music that develops in the region of Central Java to East Java that
modifies Javanese Gamelan music instrument that is made specifically using the
frequency of western music which can be combined with diatonis western musical
instruments. The grip of music used in Campursari, favored by the local community
because of its using Javanese style and gending.
According to Manthous (1999) in Wadiyo, et al (2011), one of the musicians
who considered as a Campursari figure, Campursari is not actually a pure gamelan
music, but mixture of pentatonic gamelan and diatonic western music or popular
Indonesian music. The use of elements of Javanese music such as gamelan and poetry
of songs that use the Java language is dominant. It makes people perceive that
Campursari is Javanese music.
The appearance of Manthous’s Campursari was inspired by the support
community to create Campursari groups in Central Java and Special Region of
Yogyakarta. Entertainment events such as wedding ceremonies, circumcisions,
thanksgiving, formal and informal meetings, and national holiday anniversaries, are
using Campursari music (Wadiyo, et al, 2011).
The history of Campursari is also judged as the beginning of the decontruction of
other types of music. This is because from several regions, many emerging new
groups, coupled with pengamen who love to sing Campursari’s songs.
Deconstruction of the type of music occurs when the song “Kemesraan” composed
by Iwan Fals even Madonna’s song “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” instantly turned
into a thick Javanese atmosphere. This is in contrast to the condition of classical
Javanese songs, where the song is played by these Campursari’s groups become more
modern.1
Manthous has determination to develop the Campursari that he had known in the
1970s through the creation of S. Dharmanto. Dharmanto is the leader of Orkes
Keroncong Puspa Jelita in Semarang, songwriter and singer, who has been awarded
of Bintang Radio, a national prestigious national-scale event of RRI. At that time,
Dharmanto incorporated traditional keroncong musical instruments with gamelan,
namely bas betot, cello, flute, violin, and siter. Songs include Yen Ing Tawang
1
http://www.portalsejarah.com/sejarah-musik-campur-sari.html
composed by Andjar Any was not interested by the audience (Aribowo, 2009).
20 years later, in the mid-1990s, Manthous reorganized the composition of the
instrument in accordance with his wishes, which replace the bas betot with the bass
guitar, and cello replaced with kendang. The resolve came after he achieved
remarkable achievements in Jakarta in the late 1990s. Manthous has become a
guaranteed success at the national level. The following songs has crowned his name
as a reliable songwriter: Sorga Neraka (performed by Hetty Koes Endang), Jamilah
(Leo Waldy, and then Jamal Mirdad), Gethuk dan Nginang Karo Ngilo (Nur Afni
Oktavia), Satu Legi (Arie Wibowo), dan Kangen (Evie Tamala). Various awards
have been achieved, such as HDX Award and Golden Record because the album
contains the songs sold over 500 thousand pieces. He also has the skills as a
recording operator (Aribowo, 2009).
In the course of his ecperiment, Manthous adds saron, siter, gender, demung,
gong, keyboard, and tamburine.He collects his younger siblings who already have a
siteran grout in his place. Together with them, Manthous, who has skilled in the field
of Javaanese music and karawitan since childhood, held a series off experiments
combining gamelan rhythms and modern music. The scale of gamelan tone us
adjusted to the scale of western music. It turns out that the job is not easy because he
doesn’t want to damage the grip but also don’t want Campursari fall into a kind of
uyon-uyon because of dominance of gamelan instruments. It needs the uniformity of
the basic tone (laras/scale) gamelan so that the high-low voice of the singer can be
controlled (Aribowo, 2009).
Manthous’s Campursri finally recieved a welcome from the public. Konco
Tani’s album was a huge success so the name of Manthous is identical with
Campursari. Manthous has limited in the creation of Campursari songs. To overcome
this, he once held a Campursari festival. From this festival, he gets qualified people
like Yadi S. from Wonosobo, Sukisno from Yogyakarta, and his own siblings.
Because of his innovation, Manthous, whose real name is Anto Sugiartono, recieved
an award from Journalist Association of Indonesia branch of Yogyakarta, in 2000
(Aribowo, 2009).
Substantially cultural, Campursari is actually very different from Javanese
music. Javanese music as a traditional art of the region, originally a place of social
and cultural reproduction process of its society. The society is Javanese people that
always occur in the dimension of space and time. Today, the position of Javanese
music has changed. Javanese music, originally in traditional Javanese society,
occupies a central place, because society has stepped into an industrial society, then
the position was pressed into the peripheral region, from something that
accommodate the process of social and cultural reproduction, into a form of
entertainment, leisure time, or cultural capita (Raden (1994) in Wadiyo, et al (2011)).

B. Empirical Analysis
In its simplest sense, technology can be equated with tools. In its broadest sense,
technology also includes the skills or procedures necessary to make and use those
tools (Henslin, 1998). Henslin further argues that the phrase new technology is often
used to refer to the emerging technologies of an era. The type of technology a group
has sets framework for its non-material culture. Technology even influences the way
people think and how they relate to one anoter (Stromquist, 2005).
Technology always refers to artificial ways to expand human capabilities
(Nisbet, 1969; Edari, 1976). All human groups utilize and use technology, but the
main characteristic of post-industrial society (also called post-modern society) is a
technology that greatly extends the human ability to analyze information,
communicate and travelling. New technology allows us to do what has never been
done in history. More important is how technology changes one’s way of life.
Ogburn (1964) identifies technology as the fundamental driver of social change,
which he argues derives from three processes: invention, discovery, and diffusion.
Ognurn defined invention as a combination of existing elements and materials to
form new ones (Vago, 1992; Henslin, 1998). Though we regard invention only as
material, as well as the Campursari is the result of invention, but there are also social
discoveries that can have far-reaching consequences for society. Ogburn’s second
process of social change is discovery, new way of looking at reality (Vago, 1992).
Ogburn’s third process of social change is diffusion, the spread of invention and
discovery from one region to another (Henslin, 1998). Intercultural contact is a
source of diffusion. Ogburn sees diffusion as the main process of social change and
argues that it can have -reaching effects on human relationships. Diffusion also
includes the dissemination of ideas. Furtherore, from three social change processes,
Ogburn also created the term cultural lag to refer how some cultural elements adapt
to invention and discovery more rapidly than others. According to Ogburn,
technology usually changes first, followed by culutre. In other words, we catch up
with technology changes, adjust our habits and way of life to meet their needs.

Discussion of Research
With cultural factors, we can look at ideas, knowledge, values, beliefs,
inventions, creaton and exchange. Culture provides the basis of invention and
discovery. The social system is directly or indirectly the creation of cultural values.
Any change of values or belief systems of social groups affects social institutions.
New social values and beliefs can also lead to social change. Conflict between the old
and new values leads to the creation of an entirely new value system.
It is found in the Campursari where the process performed by the music creator
of Campursari (in this case Manthous as the “dalang Campursari”). Through the
process of creativity in his musical work can combine Javanese cultural heritage, the
Javanese gamelan, with the modern music that can be accepted by modern society
today. Form of music, motifs, phrases, sentences, tone colors, etc. that previously
existed, develop by the creator to produce a new work. There is the process of
invention and discovery which is one factor in the process of social change.
Social change occurs through different cultural contacts between communities.
Diffusion is an important mechanism in social change. Cultural customs and new
technologies are borrowed and adopted when people find that they fill the emptiness
or respond to perceived needs. Borrowing the cultural features of advanced societies
is generaaly seen in developing countries and societies as they try to be modern. The
diffusion of cultural features also occurs through personal contact and interaction
between two or more cultures. Diffusion also occurs through the mass media for
transmitting and exacerbating information to a large number of people. It can
accelerate the process of change by spreading the elements of individual culture to
distant peoples and thus will result in a form of cultural modernization. This
synthesis produces a new cultural form, which has traditional and modern elements.
This happens in the Campursari, which combines gending, scale, langgam, and the
lyrics of Java with western music where with help of technology can create a new
style of popular music. In addition, technology facilitates the spread of Campursari
such as through CDs or VCDs and cassettes which afordable to the public. Some
people, however, consider Campursari is part of Javanese traditional music.
Therefore, there is a shift in people’s perception of Javanese traditional music, which
is difficult to distinguish between traditional and popular music.
Many small technologies are emerging from time to time, but most of these are
minor modificationss of existing technology. Sometimes, emerging technologies
have a great impact on human life. This refers to the term new technology. So is the
gamelan that considered as one of the technologies in this era which created and
trusted as communication tool, and means of worship in ancient times. While
Campursari is one of today’s technology products, which there is modernization of
Javanese traditional music by combining gamelan which is adapted to western
musical instrument.
However, it is interesting to note that in the interim, cultural diffusion is rapidly
changing human’s material lives, non-material aspects such as religion, ideology, and
beliefs are slowly changing. This phonomenon is known as “cultural lag”. If a non-
material culture does not adapt easily to material change, it will cause the pause
between them. The problem of adaptation in modern society can be explained where
the materials aspects of life can change much more quickly than the non-material
cultural aspects. All societies need to manage this change where the non-material
aspects of the culture guide the material change toward peace and social harmony
which tend to see the progress more that the others.

Conclusion
This paper highlights some social changes due to technology. Social change
caused by technology can lead to cultural change, human’s way of life, and so on. It
has been obeserved that the phenomenon of social change is inevitable for society
because of processes such as cultural boxes and their consequences, cultural spread,
cultural level, globalization and excessive information. Humans have interactions
with other groups, where cultural contact occurs. In this process, cultural diffusion
(the spread of invention or discovery from one region to another) occurs. This leads
to cultural alignment, a situation where many groups adopt western culture in place
of their own customs. With today’s technology, cultural diffusion is bound to happen
quickly.
The process of social change is inevitable due to factors such as discovery,
inevitable conflicts in society, technological determinism, technological creation, the
role of knowledge beliefs and values, cultural contact, cultural diffusion and the
occurrence of social movements. Human intelligence and curiousity, anxiety and
discontent also lead to new discoveries and desire to explore and learn through an
accident and experiment. People unwittingly play a role in social change in other
ways.
Campursari was created without any elemet of deliberate by Javanese artist
named Manthous. The actual Campursari is not a pure gamelan music, but mixture of
pentatonic gamelan music and western diatonic music or popular Indonesia music.
The use of elements of Javanese music such as gamelan and poetry of songs which
used the Javanese language, make people perceived that is Javanese music.
Substantially cultural, Campursari is actually very different from Javanese
music. Javanese music as a traditional art of the region, originally a place of social
and cultural reproduction process of its community. Today, the position of Javanese
music has changed. Javanese music oroginally in traditional Javanese society
occupies a central place, because society has stepped into an industrial society then
the position was pressed into the peripheral region, from something that
accommodate the process of social and cultural reprodiction, to be merely an
entertainment, leisure time, or cultural capita.
Culture provides the basis of invention and discovery. The social system is
directly or indirectly the creation of cultural values. It is present in Campursari,
which the process done by the creator of music Campursari where through the
process of creativity in the work of his music can combine Javanese gamelan with
modern music which can be accepted by today’s modern society.
The process of diffusion occurs in Campursari which combines gending, scale,
langgam, and Javanese lyrics with western music where with the help of technology
can create a new style of popular music. In addition, technology facilitates the spread
of Campursari such as through CDs or VCDs and cassettes which affordable to the
public. However, some people think that Campursari is a part of Javanese music.
Therefore, ther iss a shift in people’s perception of Javanese traditional music where
it is difficult to distinguish between traditional and popular music.
Campursari is one of the products of today’s technology which is modernization
of Javanese traditional music by combining several musical instruments namely
Javanese traditional musical instruments such as gamelan that adapted to western
musical instruments.

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