East meets ... East?

We've been looking at a lot of different music-cultures in my Musics of the World class. We just wrapped up a unit on Japanese music and are beginning a new section on Central/Southeastern European music. Finishing up my reading for class tonight, I was inspired to share a tidbit with you.
Several weeks ago we studied bits of Indonesian music, especially Javanese Gamelan music. One of the neat things I've learned in the course is that most cultures do not use the same tuning system that we use. To some of us, Jazz and blues might seem out there, but those musical styles are still based on "half-step" intervals in tuning. In most of the communities we've studied, they use completely different tuning systems, usually only similar to "Western" tuning in that they recognize the octave (nifty, eh?). A long-existing musical style in Java is music made by a Gamelan, a "band" of 10-15 members who play large metal xylophone-ish things (actually called metallophones), a violin-ish instrument, drums, and all shapes and sizes of gongs. Well, when I was listening to this music, I thought to myself: "this sounds oddly familiar." It took me a times listening to this music to identify the place I had heard this type of music before. Here's a nice example of a Javanese Gamelan performing:



Now, I'd like to introduce you to a Super Nintendo game called "Secret of Mana." Thomas and I played it on my computer for a while, and we both agree it's an excellent game (except when your sister accidentally erases your game--sorry!). Take 30 seconds to watch/listen to this clip of a battle in Secret of Mana.

Secret of Mana: Dark Lich


Can you hear it yet? Try listening again if you need to. Beneath the frenzied accompaniment and battle noises, you'll hear Gamelan metallophones! The metallophones are tuned completely different from Western tuning and give quite a different sound than we're used to. Video games usually use "western"-sounding music, even though so many are produced in the "east." Look how cultured you are.