298 Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradition Across Generations Richard Junior Kapoyos, Suharto, Syakir Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia Submitted: 2022-07-11. Revised: 2022-10-28. Accepted: 2022-11-28 Abstract This research aimed to see the phenomenon of the bia music of the Minahasa tribe that needed to be carefully observed in considering Bia Music then until now was shifting and changing due to the society’s lack of awareness towards Bia Music. This traditional music was very concerning due to the decreasing quantity and quality of the players. The objectives of this research were to analyze: (1) the traditional music heritage and preserving tradition across generations and (2) the educational process in traditional musical performances. The research applied a qualitative method with data collecting techniques by interview, observation, and literature review. Data validation technique based on credibility criteria, using data triangulation. Data analysis tech- niques consisted of collection, data presentation, data reduction, and data verification. The re- sults of the study show that the younger generation realizes that bia music has become distinctive music that belongs to the community. This music has become part of the social life of the people in Batu village, North Minahasa, so that the educational process in society occurs naturally as a model of inheritance that occurs continuously in society. Keywords: Bia Music, Traditional Music, Heritage, educational process How to Cite: Kapoyos, R. J., Suharto, S., & Syakir, S. (2022). Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradition Across Generations. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 22(2), 298-310 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022), 298-310 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v22i2.37619 vince. This musical instrument is usually played in various community activities in Batu village. Culture is the whole comple- xity that includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and other capabili- ties, and also the habits acquired by the hu- man as a member of society (Taylor, 1958) The advance of technology in various fields greatly impacted various aspects of art life, both in terms of expression and ap- preciation. Various forms of cultural beha- vior, such as lifestyle, language, clothing, and food, are included in the art that is shown on the screen, which is considered the best. Cultural behavior that is captured by society was just imitated without lear- INTRODUCTION The North of Sulawesi province con- sists of five major tribes that are domiciled in that province. Those ethnic groups are Minahasa tribe, Bolaang Mongondow tri- be, Sangihe tribe, Talaud tribe, and Siau tribe. However, the ethnicity in North Sulawesi is more heterogeneous. The five tribes have different characters and tradi- tions. One of the traditional music of the Minahasa tribe is Bia Music. Bia Music is a wind musical instrument made of conch houses/shells. This musical instrument is found in Batu village, Likupang district, Minahasa regency, Nort Sulawesi pro- Corresponding author: E-mail: suharto@mail.unnes.ac.id p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 299 ning the compatibility and the function. The consequences could be seen as related to the concepts, rules, insights, or category that in the beginning was considered the standard and then changed by something “new.” This thing made a big contribution to the shifting of cultural values, including the change in character. What used to be considered good and right according to moral norms is now no longer even. On the contrary, what was once considered ta- boo and wrong is now regarded as normal. Even among young people, it is conside- red slang; in other words, it is good and right. This phenomenon greatly affects the taste for art images (Soehardjo, 2005) The important realistic and contextu- al perspective to consider with the changes is the real problem surrounding the cultu- ral phenomenon and its proponents. Any form of a cultural phenomenon, its posi- tion is unstable. In Minahasa, bia music only existed in one village in the North Minahasa re- gency, Batu village, the Likupang district. Other music instruments such as Kolin- tang and bamboo music developed in all regencies in North Sulawesi, while Bia Music only developed in Batu village. Bia Music is very typical and unique traditio- nal music, so bia music is marked as the traditional music of North Sulawesi pro- vince. Bia music is made of shells or conch houses. Initially, around 1938 a resident of Batu village in North Minahasa used the shells or conches as a communication tool to invite the community to gather and do activities like Mapalus (service work) and work together to clean the village. The people of Batu village are mostly farmers, and the highest income in this village is the fruit that is sold all over Indonesia, but in Batu Village, they have traditional music made from shells or conch houses. The materials to create this musical instrument were obtained from the coast. Along with the times, Bia Music is used as one of the traditional musical instruments in Batu Village. This traditional music is very con- cerning that the players from year to year are decreasing in quantity and quality. It is very rare to find people that want to play this musical instrument because it is hard to be played, and also the material is also difficult to be found because they were ta- ken from shells or the sea conches. Usual- ly, the people of Batu village take the emp- ty conch, or the animal inside the snail is already out of the shells. Bia Music is one of the traditional music that is almost ex- tinct because the main materials that are Bia are very hard to find since the ecology destruction destroys the habitat of this ani- mal. On the other hand, the government wants to preserve this musical instrument because bia music is a traditional music of Minahasa tribe. The developments that are known to be better now include the efforts to preser- ve that related to efforts of maintaining, de- veloping, and spreading the Bia Music in North Sulawesi province. Artists, govern- ment, society, and the younger generation play very important roles in preserving Bia Music as a cultural asset while main- taining its authenticity. Therefore, through the artists and their partners, the govern- ment conducts regular performing arts ac- tivities regularly witnessed by the people of Batu Village and the young generations, who continue to be tasked with preserving traditional music that is almost extinct. Bia music is one of the components of traditio- nal music that stores various local wisdom and has cultural values that reflect the cul- tural and social identity of the community. Inheritance refers to the efforts of the inheritance of traditional art, while the traditional arts have been known as the arts that have been inherited from one generation to the next generation. (Kasim, 1981) stated that “the result of traditional arts is usually accepted as the traditions, the inheritance that is bestowed from the younger generations to the younger gene- rations. The inheritance process was con- ducted through the transfer learning of ideas, values, and skills. The concept of inheritance adopts the real world in which an entity/object can have a derivative entity/object (Jazu- Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022): 298-310300 li, 2011). Inheritance is about encouraging and preserving the performance compo- nents from the old generations (the gene- rations who inherit) to the young genera- tions (the generations who are inherited) and the inheritance of values that occur in a family or society (Jazuli, 2014). The inheritance or culture value transmission is something that has been passed down from generation to generation, although it is often difficult to trace its origin (Cahyo- no, 2006). Therefore, inheritance can also be interpreted as transmitting culture from generation to generation. Soehardjo (2005) explained that the inheritance system is participatory or pa- rental succession. Various motives why the parents inherit something from their bio- logical children, among others, the main one is the struggle for life. Values, beliefs, and traditional faiths may become a pat- tern of some need or completeness of the concerned community. Not only the forms that are transmitted but also including the values and norms that are believed and ad- mitted by the supporting community. The norms and values that the parents inherit are always strived to be highly respected. Legacy from generation to genera- tion is passed down historically. A gene- ration owns a culture through a learning process. Culture is not a biological heritage but a social inheritance from one generati- on to the next. It’s about all the knowledge, experience, and strategies of human adap- tation to meet their life needs. Art is one of the necessities of life. Needs that have been integrated in society will continue to be maintained through education. Education can be done by anyone who has an interest in order to maintain the shared values that are morally justified (Rohidi, . Rituals, for example, are one of the needs of society. Rituals that are preserved can be due to the community’s need for art, which has become a part of their lives. For example, the use of pantun in the ceremony of sede- kah bumi in the Malay community, which is also very religius (Andari & Suharto, 2020). Vertical inheritance means from the parent to the children that inherit values, skills, beliefs, cultural motives, etc. Hori- zontal inheritance means someone learns from his peer (in primary or secondary groups) during development. Oblique in- heritance means someone learns from the adults and institutions (e.g., in formal edu- cation). The enculturation behavior (inhe- ritance) works as a mediating variable in the relationship between the acculturation attitude and entertainment product from cultural heritage (Kizgin, H, and A . Jamal, 2018). Education serves as the enculturati- on medium carried out systemically wit- hin a family, school, and community. As the enculturation medium, every formal and non-formal educational institution is expected to inherit and instill the systems of knowledge, belief, ideas, and communi- ty cultural values where the education ta- kes place (Raharjo et al., 2021). There is always an educational pro- cess in the process of cultivating culture, including enculturation. Education is how that culture is passed on in everyday life through the family and society. As a result, local culture, which has become local wis- dom, accidentally becomes a daily habit (Marhayani, 2016). In general, the habits of the people who have become local wis- dom have a function and become part of the community’s social life. The function of Bia music itself, which used to be a means of ritual and communication, has now turned into a me- ans of entertainment (Kapoyos, 2018). Bia Music is one of the music that very unique. It used to have only one tone later due to the development of the current patterns. Bia music now has seven diatonic notes. However, now there is a lack of demand because the young people of Batu village do not really like traditional music, so only the elders play it. In the process of preser- ving it, the people still continue to play this Bia Music because the bia music has alrea- dy been there since the era of Japanese co- lonial in around 1938, which used to be a communication tool when the community was in danger, so the people want to pass Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 301 down to their grandchildren because this music has become an identity of the com- munity in Minahasa regency. In fact, Bia’s music still exists in people’s daily lives, such as in worship, communication, and entertainment. Based on existing phenomena regarding the exis- tence of bia music, its use in social life, re- ligion, and entertainment in the Batu com- munity, researchers investigated how it is preserved from generation to generation and its educational process. METHOD The study applied a qualitative re- search method with an interdisciplinary approach and Ethno pedagogy. This ap- proach is important because this research pays special attention to local genius and wisdom by disclosing cultural values as educational practices in various domains that emphasize local wisdom (Alwasilah, A. C., Suryadi, K., Karyono, 2009). The research focused on bia music: Traditional Music Heritage and ) the edu- cational process in traditional musical per- formances. Data were collected through observation, interview, and literature re- view. The researcher placed himself as the observer of the participant’s observations. The observation and interview results were recorded and analyzed, followed by visual recording with the aid of a photo camera and voice recorder. Data were ana- lyzed using Milles and Huberman’s reduc- tion, presentation, and verification theory (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The results of obtained data were related to the inheri- tance process. RESULT AND DISCUSSION The Inheritance of Bia Music and Pre- serving Tradition Across Generation The government’s role in maintai- ning and preserving bia music tradition al- ready exists. In July 2010, Bia’s Music was performed at the Pinabetengan Batu Tradi- tion Music Festival, the Pa’dior Tompaso Cultural Arts Institute Foundation at the cultural center of North Sulawesi, Minaha- sa Regency, North Sulawesi Province for the first time. And this was awarded the World Record-breaking award (Setiawan, 2010). The perception of the people in Batu village towards bia music is based on the narrative of the informants in the field, the original meaning of playing being an indi- vidual or group entertainment. This music used to be used as a communication tool, ritual, and dance music. The successor of this art has already lost the true meaning due to the shifting of culture: beliefs, de- mographies, new discoveries, and techno- logies. At this time, the function of bia mu- sic has already shifted, no longer as a ritual tool, communication, and dance music but has increasingly developed into traditional music that can be a means of entertainment for the people in Batu Village. Based on the direct observation and interview results with several participants in Batu village, it is known that the efforts to preserve this music have been dynamic. Positively by the potential of the community, especially the younger generation. The public is ge- nerally known to respond enough and ex- press positive views and understandings of the efforts to preserve Bia Music. Bia music, in every journey, has to deal with institutions of power like the community, the state, and particularly the heir of the art that is the people of Batu vil- lage. Seeing the increasing global products that continuously threaten the existence of Bia Music. Preservation is the effort to maintain, develop, and spread. Thus, it is time for the government now realizes the changes in the Batu Village commu- nity. The community has important roles in decisions to influence and benefit their environment’s life. Positive steps taken by the educa- tional institution towards Bia Music are through art performances, both music, dance, and drama. The existence of an art education institution that continues to grow will maintain the continuity of local culture, particularly Bia Music, which pro- Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022): 298-310302 longs its life from extinction. As an effort to anticipate the facts above, a strategy is needed in the imple- mentation of art education in the com- munity of Batu village. By re-activating traditional art activities that live in the community. One way is to form a culture council whose task is to provide conside- ration and input to the government related to preserving and developing traditional culture. Furthermore, through the techni- cal agency (tourism and culture office), the government conducts guidance according to the input given by the culture council. It is necessary to preserve the origi- nal form because Bia Music is the typical character of the people of Batu village. It is a pride to have a local wisdom reflecting cultural identity and social community as the owner of the art that is actualized in the form of particular music. Music is seen as something that can evoke the feeling of an artist (bia music), can be used as an emo- tional and interesting expression to see and watch. Preserving the original form is very important, preserving the original form, the artist, community, and related par- ties. It is necessary to preserve the original form of Bia Music because this Bia Music is a characteristic of the traditional music of the people in Batu Village, which is re- latively simple but has a uniqueness that is played by blowing into the holes that have been made in the Bia. Bia Music is actuali- zed in the form of voice art. The people of Batu village see this voice art as something that can evoke feelings, be used as an ex- pression, and be pleasant to hear. The artist opens the spaces to the community, particularly the young gene- rations, as the successor of this traditional art to learn the bia music. They can join the exercises in the afternoon in the Culture Center of North Sulawesi, Pa’Dior, Foun- dation of the Tompaso Culture Arts Insti- tute, Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi Province. This is done so that Bia Music is continiously preserved in the community of North Sulawesi, particularly the Batu village. The participants who joined the exercises were from various circles: college students, school students, and communi- ties. In addition to exercises with college students, school students, and the commu- nity, usually the Bia Music Groups: Mutiara Kasih, Permata Laut, and Mutiara, exercise together in preparing for the shows which perform Bia Music dan also the govern- ments’ events. In every performance, Bia Music’s original form is always preserved. In the past time, Bia Music was only a me- ans of communication, rituals, and dance music for the people of Batu village, which has changed its function to become a tradi- tional musical instrument of the people in Batu Village. It has now become a musical instrument whose function has changed. Bia Music of Batu village community was used as a communication tool, ritual, and music dance. Now, its function has changed into the traditional music of the people of Batu village. Now, the ‘Mutiara’ Bia Music Group, under the control of Mr. Yano Tooy (an artist), has developed it due to the demands of music and the current development of times, seeing people pre- fer modern performances to traditional performances. Therefore, bia music, which used to be played by only a few people, now it can be played in an ensemble (Fi- gure 1). The music players can go to thirty in one group of Bia Music. Figure 1. The Practice of Bia Music (Document: Kapoyos) Efforts to spread bia music have been carried out by related parties such as ar- tists and the government, where they have Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 303 become regulatory partners. Disseminati- on is not only through music performances and sales but also live workshops, TV in- terviews such as TVRI of the village head of Batu and several communities (artists), and broadcast throughout North Sulawesi. Dissemination has also been carried out by publication through coverage of national television, CNN Indonesia, in 2012, about the existence, uniqueness, and beauty of bia music in the village of Batu (CNN In- donesia, 2012). Figure 2. The Interview of The Artists and The Head of Batu Village (Document: Kapoyos) The effort showed the seriousness of the government and regional artists to spread the Bia Music to the young genera- tions so that many people know that this Bias Music is the traditional music from Batu Village, South Likupang District, North Minahasa Regency. Through the workshops and TV interviews, Bia Music can be spread and known by many people (Figure 3). But, more importantly, through the education channels. Because through the education channels are the right target because, in art subjects, the students are re- quired to get to know the local arts. Figure 3. Traditional Music Seminar in Batu Village (Document: Kapoyos) Bia Music as The Means of Community Social Culture Since the prehistoric period, bia mu- sic plays a vital role in delivering messa- ges because it is known that a number of Bia types can produce varying tones which sound sonorous. At the time, the messages or signs listened to by the people had dif- ferent tones. The differences based on the meaning of the delivered messages, such as calling the people to gather, are diffe- rent from asking the troops to get ready. Besides that, the purpose and the voice to- nes that were listened to can be different in every area or tribe. For sure, the use of Bia as the delivering messages tool helped the people or the tribe a lot in the various corners of the world in delivering and re- ceipting messages or signs like calling the people to gather, doing parties, opening an activity or tribe meeting, opening a sports competition, asking the troops to get ready or attending a ceremony, even more, the kingdom troops often sounded Bia Music as the sign of victory after the war (Wenas, 2000) In the daily life of the villagers, Bia Music was a sign of starting activities or works; there were the fish selling in the village market, the sign of praying, the sign of sailing activities, porting, or the sign of thick mist in the ocean. In additi- on, Bia Music was used as a sign of danger of enemy attacks, wild animal attacks, or even natural disasters. Finally, Bia Music was also used as a sign of the death of the tribe members or leaders and a sign of wel- coming important guests, particularly go- vernment officials. Communication knowledge focuses on the interaction between humans in cre- ating meaning through symbols. As stated by Clifford Geertz that culture is a learned behavior and a mental phenomenon. Whi- le communication is a tool to learn and create the mental in the form of symbols (Purwasito, 2002) On the other side, communication is Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022): 298-310304 a mechanism to socialize society’s cultural norms horizontally, from one society to another, or vertically from one generation to the next generation. Just like culture de- termines the norms that are appropriate to a particular group refers to the ability of humans to bequeath knowledge from ge- neration to generation ( Mulyana, 2004) In the era of Japanese colonialism, bia music was also used as a sign when the enemies attacked the village becau- se, around 1938, this music was used as a communication tool by the villagers to avoid the Japan troops who often attacked the villagers in the Minahasa tribe. After being more developed, Bia Music became a communication tool to gather in order to work together and do plantations in the gardens; the villagers of Batu usually call it Mapalus. Figure 4. Bia Music used for calling people to do mutual assistance in the ricefield (Mapalus) (Documentation of Richard Jr. Kapoyos) In the Minahasa community, there is a local wisdom called “Mapalus” that is a system or technique of mutual assistance for the common interest that the ances- tors inherit from the land of Tohat and Lu- mimuut in the Minahasa tribe that means “humans live to live other humans” (Su- mual, 1995) Mapalus is mutual assistance based on shoulder-to-shoulder cooperation among the villagers. On the other parts of the community, such as people in Minaha- sa, the nature of mutual assistance culture can be realized through “Mapalus”. This is one of the concepts of “si tou tumou tou” which means “humans live to live with ot- her humans.” (Koentjaraningrat, 2002) stated that in rural communities, still traditional, the culture of mutual assistance is a charac- teristic and way of life passed from gene- ration to generation. This culture in the life of each community has various imple- mentation systems, including mutual as- sistance based on reciprocity (shoulder for shoulder) and mutual assistance that only fulfills the obligation as the community member. Mutual assistance is a solidarity form of traditional agrarian communities. These communities belong to each other based on social relations that are called closed family ties, geographic location, and faith. The basic word of Mapalus is palus which means pouring or directing; therefore, Ma- palus means an attitude or behavior that is based on the awareness of the necessity to do activities by gathering (unifying) the power (strength and intelligence) of every member of the community to gain an op- timal result in accordance with what has been agreed previously (Sumual, 1995) In the beginning, Mapalus was par- ticularly conducted in the events related to agriculture, such as land clearing and harvesting that are called Mapalus Tani. Mapalus culture is not limited only to agri- culture but also conducted in every social event in every life area. Just like the tra- ditional ceremony events, weddings, fu- nerals, and so on. Mapalus are the events such as land clearing for settlements, agri- culture, rice fields or fields that are carried out with mutual assistance and shoulder to shoulder among families, villages, and community members (Rachbini, 1990; Tu- rang, 1983) The communities which became members of Mapalus are helped in redu- cing the fee costing their land processing them becoming Mapalus members to pro- cess their land. The people of Batu village at work are also called Mapalus (gotong royong), where everything is done by mutual cooperation. Mapalus is usually used in social events that aim to help each other. And this so- Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 305 cial service is often carried out by bia mu- sic groups. In the author’s observation: the lottery club is in the form of money, goods, or services. This is conducted two times a week before the music practice takes place. This gathering is not only limited to lotte- ry clubs, but many things are discussed, including sharing information about mu- sic development, playing techniques, how to choose songs, and emotional activities created in the membership so that there is culture unifying and a kinship relation bet- ween each other. The Educational Process of Bia Music Performances and Sociocultural Activi- ties Art learning on a community basis has higher durability because the commu- nity will continue to live, grow, and deve- lop. Therefore, the potential that exists in the community needs to be optimized. In many places, traditional music is still the aesthetic tool or means that brings the satisfaction of enjoying music while still being valued as the cultural heritage of the ancestors that are highly valued, be- cause traditional music represents the fea- ture and characteristics of a particular area where the music is used to be based. The more people like the style and the compo- sition of modern music today, the more traditional music still exists as a processi- on that is still maintained, although quan- titatively not as much as people who enjoy modern music. Education in Music Performance On various occasions, Bia Music ta- kes part in the entertainment of people. The performance in various events is ar- ranged by the music groups themselves based on the invitations or direct requests from the event organizers of folk perfor- mances. The bia music is very important to the villagers of Bau to liven up the celebra- tion atmosphere, such as big national days and other big days. The atmosphere will be less attractive if there is no Bia Music in those folk performances. Performing arts are an important tool in arts education. In musical performan- ces such as in commemoration of national days, in addition to increasing the sense of nationalism, the musical atmosphere that is obtained during the musical performan- ces also increases. Besides that, we will also get valuable education through symbols, songs that are played, and costume per- formances (Asia Ramli, 2021). Bia music as the Minahasa people’s identity will educa- te them to feel proud of their identity. It is the attitude that members of a nation have when they care about national identity. National sense is the attitude possessed by members of a society or nation when they care about national identity Marja Heimo- nen, David G. Hebert (2012) . Music education in the church activity Bia instruments of various sizes can produce a variety of sounds with different types of sounds (CNN Indonesia, 2012). Church members use this for ensemble groups to accompany worship choirs and instrumentals. With the guidance of a mu- sic coach, they sound the notes according to the sound they have through the bia instrument (Figure 5). It is not difficult for them to be guided to sing church songs that are usually sung because they are used to singing songs in their services at church. Figure 5. Practicing bia instrument in the church (Documentation of Kapoyos) As in a choir, participants who hold musical instruments will be trained to con- centrate on their vocals and maintain a ba- lance of rhythm and harmony (Isgro, 1982). Even more important is the process of Christian character education in this edu- cational process (Purba, 2020). This educa- tional process starts from the training, pro- Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022): 298-310306 cess from the trainer to the trained up to the presentation in worship activities. Learning Method To be able to become a band and form a beautiful harmony there are at le- ast 15 bia blowers. Each blower can supply 2 tones (CNN Indonesia, 2012). Bia music is taught to the younger generations of the church through practices with the coaches and the musicians in the Batu village so that they can perform in the Sunday ser- vices. The younger generations learn how to play this musical instrument from the- se practices. The musicians of this musical instrument teach with a repetition method. Because of this bia music is a wind instru- ment; therefore, the first thing to be trained is the breathing technique then, followed by the diatonic scale technique. After that, the bia musicians applied the Drill method so that the new learners could practice the techniques their seniors explained. One essential technique in learning this musical instrument is the fingering technique. The technique can be inter- preted as the ability of the player’s fingers to determine their position in relation to the tone of the game to be produced. Thus, the player must first clearly recognize the position and use of the fingers of the right/ left hand in accordance with the formati- on of the notes. The position of the fingers on the left hand is used to hold the instru- ment, while the fingers of the right hand are used for fingering (especially on brass instruments). The index finger is located on the first valve, the middle finger on the second valve, and the ring finger on the third valve (Latuni et al., 2019). The bia musicians applied the drill method so that the new learners could practice the techniques their seniors exp- lained. The drilling method is one of the most important methods in learning it. Ac- cording to Sudjana (1996), the method is an activity that does the same thing, repea- tedly in earnest, intending to strengthen an association or perfect a skill to become permanent. The drilling method is carried out because of the abilities of players of various ages, musical instruments of va- rious sizes, and different types of voices. Luckily, their musical background, which is used to singing in various voices during church services, helps them maintain their musicality when playing the instrument. The distinctive feature of this met- hod is the repetition of the learning activi- ties from the same thing. Thus, it is formed as knowledge or a skill that is ready to be used by the person concerned. The drill teaching method (training) is a good way of teaching to instill certain habits, as well as to obtain dexterity, accuracy, opportu- nity, and skills on the subject matter that has been learned. The drilling method in playing bia music together is an activity of doing the same thing over and over again in earnest with the aim of strengthening an association or perfecting a skill, so that it is permanent. Drill is a way of teaching by providing exercises on what students have learned so that they get something. And, the exexcise is when they playing indivi- dualy and playing together in one compo- sision. Bia’s sense of belonging to music and their enjoyment of music makes them seriously take up the practice. Moreover, there is high public support for the use of bia music both in community social activi- ties, worship and entertainment. Interest of learning in a person determines that person will be serious in learning or not, because of encouragement or stimulation can make someone wants to do a study se- riously (Febriyona et al., 2019; CNN Indo- nesia, 2012) One other method of learning is con- veying subject matter with songs. The use of media by singing and utilizing music can increase the effectiveness of learning so that learning objectives will be achieved (Supartini et al., 2020). The songs used can be used as learning models, but there are also songs used in worship activities and entertainment in the community. This is where the role of the mentor is very important in this activity. Teachers needed to improve musical competence. The ability of teachers to compose or cre- Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 307 ate songs in the learning process based on developing students’ religious character implied that teachers also had to possess literacy skills by investigating studies that were able to enhance their abilities (Julia et al., 2022). Yano Tooy is a mentor who drills the bia music group in Batu village ( Figure 6). Figure 6. Researcher together with Yano Tooy as the keynote informant of this study (Docu- mentation of Richard Jr. Kapoyos) Bia music as performing art In terms of musical performances or religious songs in the church, the Bia Music can not be separated, or the cong- regation is indirectly entertained by the religious song performances as a human need. The performance of Bia Music in some events, in the religious ceremonies, competition stages, and cultural missions is a means of publication and entertain- ment. Music observers and lovers usually attend the events at various societal levels. The community’s enthusiasm is reflected in how they still put traditional music as a means of entertainment for the commu- nity. Based on the monograph data about the belief system of the Batu village com- munity, it was explained that the majori- ty of Batu village community embraced Christianity. This thing had a great impact on the existence of Bia Music in Batu villa- ge. This Bia Music usually plays at religio- us services like Easter and Christmas, alt- hough the Bia Music is also played when welcoming honorable guests such as the president, governor, regent, or mayor who come to visit Batu village. Jerry Nikson Sampelan clears this as the head of Batu village and as the player of Bia Music. In his interview with the authors as follow; “..Musik Bia ini nda Cuma sekedar Musik Biasa bagitu, Musik Bia ini so ada dari za- man penjajahan jepang tahun 1938. Dulu ini Musik Bia Cuma jadi sarana komunikasi warga, ja pake ba pangge warga supaya ba- kumpul d lapangan for mo ba mapalus go- tong royong ato ba kerja bakti, mar karena so berkembang lama-lama ini Musik Bia ini jadi musik tradisi Desa Batu. Kong akhirnya Musik Bia ini dimainkan di dalam gereja, kong biasa kalo ada tamu sama deng guber- nur, bupati ato walikota bagitu, pasti Musik Bia ini mo jadi musik penyambut tamu.” (“..This Bia Music is not only usu- al music, and this Bia Music has alrea- dy existed since Japanese colonialism in 1938. Long ago, bia music was a means for people to communicate, was used to call the people to do social work, but as it developed more, this music became a tra- ditional music of Batu village. Finally, this music was played in the church. When the- re are guests such as the governor, regent, or mayor, this Bia Music becomes a welco- ming music.”) Based on those interview quotes, it can be concluded that Bia Music is a form of art culture which is a religion breathed in, particularly Christianity, so that it has a close relationship with Batu village. In this case, the majority of Batu village commu- nity who embraces Christianity seriously influences the development of Bia Music in Batu village (Figure 7). Performing arts, such as drama, dan- ce, and musical arts, involve performing in front of an audience. Performances are usually associated with staging performed in a building, arena, proscenium, etc. Ac- cording to (Brandon, 2003), performance is an art part of the life of an individual or group whose presence is supported by the related individual or group, whose functi- on can be used to share interests in society as its support. Based on the relationship between art and its supporting community, there Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22 (2) (2022): 298-310308 will be changes, and various roles can be owned by the performing arts, which are largely determined by the circumstances of the community and the environment. Throughout the journey of human life, it is recorded that the performing arts are presented to meet various interests ran- ging from ritual demands, education and profane entertainment (Soedarsono, 2010). He also argues that in the era of modern technology, in general, the performing arts in human life are classified into three: (1) as a means of the ceremony, (2) as personal entertainment, (3) as a show. Although, in this changing era, the function of per- forming arts, the function of the oldest performing art is still preserved, some have shifted their functions even though their forms have not changed much. And there are those whose functions shift and their shape changes or overlaps. Besides, of course, there are also new forms due to human needs and creativity. Musical form or technique is part of music theory that includes studying rhyth- mic and melody structure. In bia music, there are rhythmic and melodic patterns that are presented in each performance. A rhythmic presentation is a form of instru- ment playing pattern in each structure or part of the playing. So that several patterns of playing emerged in each instrument, while the melody is the harmony in the performance. Bia Music was classified as simple performing arts. If we talk about the form, the simplicity of the forms is not the only one that becomes the determiner in the life of traditional performing art. However, other forms are still contained in this tradition of art. Therefore, basically, an art form is not only something tangible or an art object that is visible or palpable, but an art form has an abstract definition, structure, articulation, the overall result of the relationship of the most intertwin- ed factors, or more precisely the way of in which all aspects are assembled involving the notion of form, expression, which ma- kes art have a unique character. Figure 7. Bia Music performance (Documentation of Richard Jr. Kapoyos) Based on the instruments used in the show, bia music performances are inclu- ded in the type of Wind music. Bia Music performances are not only played in an ensemble but also can be combined with other traditional musical instruments such as kolintang, seng bamboo, bamboo music. It is customized to the needs or desires of a music composer. The presentation of Bia Music can be displayed in various places, for example, on the stage, courtyard (ter- race), and house yard. This bia music can be played in a sitting or standing position, and the costumes used by players, both men and women, do not have to wear for- mal clothes except for attending formal events that must use suits or Batik. Many educational processes in cultu- ral events involving music can be part of the social community. The education starts from how they learn to play the instru- ment, practice, and control the rhythm to balance and harmonize. What is even more important is learning and instilling the va- lues that exist in the use of bia music in the social life of the Batu village community. Karena pada dasarnya pendidikan itu un- tuk mempertahankan nilai-nilai yang dise- pakati baik bagi suatu masyarakat (Rohidi, 2012). CONCLUSIONS Bia music has become a source of pride for the people of Batu village, North Minahasa. The music has become part of the social life of the people of Batu villa- Richard Junior Kapoyos et al., Bia Music: Traditional Music Heritage and Preserving Tradi- 309 ge, so several social and religious activities have used this music. Because of this, the educational process occurs naturally and is conditioned by the community and local government. The learning process carried out by the community involves people across generations. Because of this sense of belonging, an educational process takes place socially, naturally resulting in cultu- ral preservation in the form of music in the village. They believe that through bia mu- sic education in their social life, the music is believed to be sustainable in Batu villa- ge. The process of education through music can be good for society, religion, and musical performances have educated people about the values of social life, spiri- tuality, and of course, the beauty of music. The habit of the people to worship using diatonic type songs facilitates the learning process and the use of bia music. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Promoter and Co-Promoter for their encouragement, patience, and in- valuable supervision and guidance. Their kind, generous and thoughtful assistance means a lot to us in completing this article. The author also thanks profusely to Yano Tooy as the keynote informant of this stu- dy, all the Bia musicians, the head of Batu village and all the people in Batu village. REFERENCES Alwasilah, A. C., Suryadi, K., Karyono, T. (2009). 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