Kacapi

The kacapi is a plucked zither I started playing in 1994 when I was invited to join Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan. The instrument I play comes from Sunda, the west end of the island of Java. It is more like a harp where both hands pluck and mute the strings. This is a challenge since I am used to fretting strings with my left hand as I pluck or strum with my right. Through the years with Evergreen I have had to learn challenging new music and this has helped me gain comfort with the instrument.

Bill Parsons, solo kacapi

The video above features my arrangement of Mang Koko’s piece, Tina Jandela. I wrote it as a solo but added a coda which features Blair Mackay on percussion. The meter blends 6/8 and 3/4 so the music has a two feel set against a three.

Tina Jandela original

Here is a karaoke version of the original song.