Computer software tones assessment improving the blades

Journal of Information Engineering and Applications www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-5782 (print) ISSN 2225-0506 (online)
Vol 2, No.8, 2012

Computer Software Tones Assessment Improving the Blades
Tones Accuracy Balinese Gamelan Performance
Sudarma, Made
Computer System and Informatics
Department of Electrical Engineering, Udayana University
Bukit Jimbaran Campus, Bali, Indonesia
Tel./Fax: 62361703315, e-mail: sudarma@ee.unud.ac.id
The research is financed by independent loan
Abstract
In making gamelan tone arrangement highly depends on aligner sense and feeling. Each gamelan’s
craftsman has his way of aligning with different standard of tone. This causes a performance tune on the
blades gamelan has incorrect frequency. To get the right tone harmonization should take measurements tone
repeatedly, depending on work experience, and their hearing sensitivity. But in fact they are now, aligning
power is limited, most of them elderly. It also led to the production of gamelan takes a long time, and the
number of aligning is also very limited. The gamelan’s craftsman when doing his activities is in his natural
manner in order to avoid the illness because of work. To anticipate the limitation of human resources in the
field of alignment and to maintain the consistency of the gamelan’s tone in the long period of time it is in
need for the touch of information technology in the form of software. The software to analyze the
frequency of gamelan’s base tone in order to get the result of the tone in the strip of gamelan which is
measurable and in accordance with the expectation.
Experimental research with treatment by subjects design, involving 15 samples of people who doing the
activities in the condition before and after implementation. Accuracy tones, work productivity, satisfaction,
were analyzed using the t-paired sample t-test testing, in the level of significance of 5%. Finding in the
field showed that, after the assessment tone using the software, there was an increase of the aligning
assessment accuracy of Bali’s gamelan by 4.26%, an increase of work productivity by 29.63%, an increase
of evaluator’s satisfaction by 27.91%.
Keywords: Software , Tones assessment, Blades tester

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
In the last three decades, Bali’s gamelan becomes a pride, proved by a lot of art enthusiasts from many
countries around the globe come to study it either the theory or the practice, even there is the
acknowledgement which put the Bali’s gamelan in the good category. Not only in Bali, in the several parts
of the world there are several groups of Bali’s percussion art enthusiasts such as in United States, Canada,
Europe, and other countries. This in turn has the impact of increasing the demand for the set of Bali’s
gamelan (Triguna, 2011). But behind the melodious sound of Bali’s gamelan, accompanied with the
increasing of demand of the gamelan set, there is a basic problem in the production process. In performing
his activities, the aligner has not been in the natural manner position, so that highly risk of illness because
of work. Related with the issue it is deemed necessary to redesign the workstation that suitable with the
natural work manner based on the anthropometric of the workers. The limitation of the skillful aligners also
has an impact to the process of the finishing of the Bali’s gamelan.
More than 30% of the skillful workers who still actively working as the gamelan’s aligners are in the age of
60 years and older (Sudarma, 2011), and nearly 90% of the aligners having a deaf in one or both of their
ears, that is the conduction deaf and sensorineural deaf. The loss of the hearing is as the result of the noise
exposure which takes place repeatedly in the long period of time. This condition will have an impact to the
tone accuracy outcome. Even, with the development of technology and globalization not many of the young
generation nowadays who wants to involve as the gamelan craftsman especially as the aligner. This is very
worrying to the continuation and sustainability of the availability of the Bali’s gamelan in the future. To

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anticipate the limitation of the human resources in the field of aligning and to maintain the consistency of
the gamelan tone in the long period of time it is deemed necessary for the touch of information technology
in the form of software.
Based on the problem mentioned above, to achieve the expected result then computer software is designed
to measure the tone as the substitution of the aligning sense of hearing in assessing the strip tone which
leads to the change of work attitude. The objective of the research is to find out the increasing improving
the accuracy blades tones performance after using the computer software design.

1.2 Purpose and Use of the Research
The general purpose of this research is to find out the improvement of Balinese gamelan tone tester
performance after the implementation of computer software. The use of this research is that this computer
software can be used as the aid tool in the assessment of tone tester which is more measurable.

1.3 Research hypothesis
Implementation of computer software increase accuracy, accelerate time assessment, and satisfaction of
Balinese gamelan assessor.

2. Research Method
The research is the experimental research by using treatment by subject design. Sample collection
technique conducted by simple random sampling, that is everyone who fulfilled the inclusion criteria has
the same opportunity to be selected as a sample in this research. The size of the sample is determined by
using the Colton’s formula (1985) with α = 0.05 and β = 0.1. The outcome is obtained that the amount of
samples are 15 persons, who are selected simply randomly with toss-up technique. The research variables
are identified and classified as follows:
a) independent variable is the computer software;
b) dependent variable is the aligner’s performance who is assessed by the accuracy, accelerate time
assessment , satisfaction; and
c) controlled variables which consist of: aligner’s internal factors (age, gender, health), and external
factors (wet temperature, dry temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, noise, and light
intensity).
The data analysis conducted by the way as follows:
a) descriptive analysis;
b) normality test by using Shapiro-Wilk test;
c) accuracy, productivity, satisfaction, were analyzed using t-paired test and data of the rest pulses
and weariness prior to work was tested with Wilcoxon test in the real level (α) = 0.05.
d) Data is processed using SPSS for Windows version 18.0 program.

3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Computer software design
The result of computer software design reliability test, involving 30 competent respondents in the field of
program application found out that 66.7% of respondents said that computer device had a complete feature
and 33.3% said that it had very complete feature; 73.3% said that computer was reliable and 26.6% said
that it was very reliable; 33.3% said it was easy to use and 66.7% said it was very easy to use; 73.3% said it
was safe and 26.7% said it was very safe; and 13.3% said it could document well and 86.7% said the
documenting was very well. Computer program is the program used to match the gamelan’s instrument
tone used as the tested tone with gamelan’s instrument tone that used as the basic reference.
3.2 Accuracy, Work Productivity, and Satisfaction
The accuracy assessment of gamelan’s tone is the level of result proximity achieved to the tones which the
quality is assessed or counted. Thus the output is compatible with the degree of truth that expected. Based
on the result of the study it is found out that the average of accuracy level at first period is 94.60 ± 0.83%

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Vol 2, No.8, 2012

and the average at second period is 97.93 ± 0.96% (Figure 1). The meaning analysis with t-paired test
shows that both groups after treatment, the average of the tone accuracy level differs significantly (p <
0.05). The increasing of the accuracy level by 4.26% after using computer software is due to when in the
process of reference tone alignment the frequency is already known, so that easily to bring closer the
aligned blades with reference tone frequency.
The productivity basically is the outcome from all the activity components. In this research the productivity
is counted based on the amount of blades that can be aligned in one working hour divided by working
pulses multiplied by 1 working hour. Based on this study it is found out that the average of working
productivity at first period is 0.382 ± 0.034 strip/ pulse and the average at second period is 0.543 ± 0.052
blade/pulse (Figure 2). The meaning analysis with t-paired test shows that both groups after treatment, the
average of the productivity differs significantly (p < 0.05).
Further it is found out that there is the increasing of productivity by 29.63%. The increasing of worker’s
productivity and suppressing the high cost is one of the advance steps to win the global competition such as
to make use of the human resources and suppress all kind of costs but increase the optimal production
output. Suppress the cost as small as possible such as the cost required to pay the health benefits and
sickness rehabilitation due to working, accident and injury. This can be done by developing the working
condition and environment that is healthy, safe, and comfortable. In other words is that by implementing
work effectiveness such as selecting and transferring the technology which is highly efficient. Technology
advancement is one of the factors that determine work productivity since it will simplify the workers in
making the proper goods or services. The result of the study is in line with the result by Suputra (2003) who
stated that the usage of the chair and working table that compatible with the workers’ anthropometry can
increase the work productivity by 16.87% (p < 0.05) for the Palimanan’s rock rooster sculptures at Mahkota
corporation Bali. So is the research by Nuada (2005), also stated that the development of chair dimension
and the height of suitable working space with the anthropometry of brick makers can increase the work
productivity of the brick makers by 167.25%.
The satisfaction assessment of gamelan’s aligner is the feeling about the pleasure or is not a result that is
being done. The manner of someone to the assessment result, the high level of satisfaction will have
positive attitude towards the assessment. Based on the result of the study it is found out that the average of
satisfaction at first period is 16.87 ± 1.06 and the average at second period is 23.40 ± 0.91. The meaning
analysis with t-paired test shows that both groups after treatment, the average of satisfaction differs
significantly (p < 0.05).
The increase of satisfaction score by 27.91% due to the time needed is shorter than previous working time,
the level of accuracy also increasing, so is the work effectiveness also improve the satisfaction for the
aligners. Basically the assessment satisfaction is the individual thing. But in this case the software is built
based on the rules or criteria in the Bali’s gamelan tones. The degree of satisfaction towards the assessment
of a gamelan aligning is not individual by nature anymore but already in the frame of reference in the
gamelan’s tones pitch.
Satisfaction is also affecting the persistence of aligners in doing their activities. The aligners with high
satisfaction tend to work with high spirit. The quality of work and the outcome that can be achieved by the
satisfied people with their working outcomes will create the satisfaction also to the user of the product, in
this case is Bali’s gamelan set. Work satisfaction is the wish of everybody. Someone who satisfied will
cause better health compared to the disappointed people (Parasuraman et. al, 1988). Satisfaction also
related with the feeling of safety and comfort. The aligning satisfaction related to the availability of
physical facilities to assist the aligning activities, the tools’ reliability and the tools’ benefit. This opinion is
in line with the study by Titin (2010) who reported that the ergonomic intervention in the stamping part
body component activities in stamping plant division at PT. ADM Jakarta increase the workers’ work
satisfaction by 8.83%.
3.3 The weakness of research
To reach 100% tone accuracy against to the reference tone is impossible to get. It is due to the caution

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Vol 2, No.8, 2012

factor of the aligners in the blades grinding process that still performed manually. Where as if the grinding
is carried out until approaching or even reaching 100% accuracy highly risked in causing excessive
grinding that resulted in blades cutting or even re-smelting of its materials. The attainment tone will reach
100% accuracy to reference tone if the gamelan’s blades grinding process is carried out by computer
system, since the process will controlled automatically.

4. Conclusion and Suggestions
4.1 Conclusion
Based on the result and discussion mentioned above, so it can be concluded as follows:
1. Computer software improving the accuracy blades tones assessment of Balinese gamelan.
2. Computer software improving of work productivity blades tones assessment of Balinese gamelan
3. Computer software improving the satisfaction blades tones assessment of Balinese gamelan
4.2 Suggestions
Based on the research conclusion mentioned above so it can be suggested as follows:
1. For the next research, to grind the gamelan blades with the rugged surface such as terompong is
very difficult in the aligning process, for it should be designed of the holding tool with the easily
adjusted size.
2. With the result of the study it should be exist of the tone standardization in gamelan pitch
assessment system.

Acknowledgements
A great appreciation goes to everybody who has made valuable contributions in this study and their
critical comments on this manuscript.

References
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Notes:

Figure 1. The comparison of accuracy between first period and second period

Figure 2. The comparison of work productivity between first period and second period

Figure 3. The comparison of satisfaction between first period and second period

32

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Computer software tones assessment improving the blades

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