Glossary

Javanese Musical Terms

• Balungan: "skeleton", the basic melodic framework of a piece.
• Buka: introduction to a piece by a solo instrument.
• Cengkok: "pattern".
• Gadon: the "chamber" style, featuring the soft instruments.
• Gatra: basic metric unit, usually 4 balungan beats.
• Gendhing: a musical composition; in a formal context, a multi- sectional work, usually with sections composed using the larger structures.
• Gembyang: playing in octaves.
• Gongan: a section of a piece, the time from one gong to another.
• Imbal: interlocking pattern of two like instruments.
• Inggah: one of the sections of a gendhing.
• Irama: the rhythmic relationship of the elaborating instruments to the balungan.
• Karawitan: gamelan music.
• Kenongan: a section of a piece, from one kenong to another.
• Lagu: melody.
• Laras: tuning system, either pelog or slendro, lit. "harmony".
• Merong: one of the sections of a gendhing.
• Mipil: pattern for breaking up the balungan into smaller rhythmic units.
• Ngelik: one of the sections of a gendhing.
• Ompak: introductory or transitional section in a multi- sectional piece.
• Pathet: one of six Javanese "modes", in slendro the three pathets are Nem, Sanga, and Manyuro.
• Sekaran: "flower", a set embellishment pattern, usually used in alternation with imbal.
• Wayang Kulit: shadow puppet play.
• Wela: a silence at what would have been a structural/ colotomic point

Western Musical Terms

• Beat: the basic rhythmic unit against which we perceive the rhythm.
• Measure: a grouping of beats.
• Octave: a frequency relationship of 2:1.
• Pitch: the frequency at which an instrument is vibrating.
• Rhythm: the relative temporal relationship between two or more events; i.e., when things happen in relation to other things.
• Tempo: the absolute temporal relationship between events; i.e., is the piece of music slow or fast?

Instruments

Structural ("colotomic") instruments

• Gong: large, hanging gong with boss in the center, often in several sizes.
• Kempul: smaller hanging gongs, often one for each pitch in the scale.
• Kenong: bossed "pots" suspended over wooden boxes, boss up.
• Kethuk and
• Kempyang: small pots, suspended on a box.

Balungan Instruments

• Slenthem: bass of the gender family, thin keys over tube resonators, played with soft, wheel-like mallet.
• Saron Family: set of thick bronze keys over a trough resonator, played with heavy wooden "hammer".
  • Demung: low.
  • Saron: medium.
  • Peking: high.

Bonang Family

• Bonang barung or "Bonang": medium.
• Bonang panerus or "Panerus": high.

Elaborating ("soft") Instruments

• Gender: multi-octave, thin keys over tube resonator, played with two soft, wheel like mallets.
• Gender panerus: an octave higher than the gender.
• Gambang: multi-octave wooden-keyed xylophone on a trough resonator.
• Rebab: two-stringed fiddle.
• Suling: bamboo flute.
• Siter: double-strung zither, plucked with thumbs.
• Gerong: male chorus.
• Sinden: female vocalist.

Kendang: