Introduction to Gamelan Music

In the following discussion, we will build a javanese piece, from the "ground up" so to speak, at each level giving a verbal explanation, notation (approximating what one might see being used by a musician in a gamelan), and, where appropriate, the inclusion of a general midi file to further illustrate the idea. Whenever you see this: , press it to get a midi playback of the music in question.

The gamelan music of Java can be thought of as being made up of three different musical levels, all happening at the same time: 1) structual, 2) the balungan or most basic melodic content, and 3) elaboration.

The most fundamental division in Javanese music is marked by a sounding of the gong. The time between soundings of the gong is called a gongan. The gong is represented here by "G".


	G				G

Each gongan is then typically divided into four equal parts by the kenongs. The letter "N" here stands for the kenong. "G/N" indicates that the gong and kenong are played simultaneously.


	G/N	N	N	N	G/N

In between the kenongs, the kempuls are played, thus dividing the gongan into eight equal parts. The letter "P" will stand for kempul.


	G/N   P   N   P   N   P   N   P   G/N

However, the kempul immediately after the gong is normally silent. This is represented by ".".


	G/N   .   N   P   N   P   N   P   G/N

This structure is then further divided, into sixteen equal parts, by the kethuk, represented by "+".


	G/N + . + N + P + N + P + N + P + G/N

In many pieces, this is still further divided, into thirty-two equal parts by the kempyang. The kempyang is represented by "-".


G/N - + - . - + - N - + - P - + - N - + - P - + - N - + - P - + - G/N
	

The balungan is the most fundamental melodic content of a gamelan piece. How it lines up with the structure above determines the form of the piece. Some pieces will have only eight notes to the gongan, some will have sixteen, others thirty-two, others can have even more. For our example here, we have chosen a piece called Ladrang Asmaradana. Ladrang refers to the form, which is thirty-two balugan notes against the structure outlined above. The pitches are of a pentatonic scale, the members of which are represented by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. A "_" under a numeral indicates that it is transposed an octave lower.


G - + - . - + - N - + - P - + - N - + - P - + - N - + - P - + - G/N
  2 1 2 6 2 1 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 3 1 6 3 2 1 3 2 1 6 5 3 2 1 3 2 1 6


A gamelan piece is not complete unless it contains at least one level of elaboration of the balungan. In this example, the bonang plays an elaborating part that is closely related to the balungan, most often playing the same pitches as the balungan, but faster and more often.


	      -       +       -                -       +       -      N		
Balungan      2       1       2       6        2       1       2      3
Bonang	2 1 2 . 2 1 2 . 2 6 2 . 2 6 2 .  2 1 2 . 2 1 2 . 2 3 2 . 2 3 2 .


	      -       +       -       P        -       +       -       N
	      5       3       2       1        3       2       3       1
        5 3 5 . 5 3 5 . 2 1 2 . 2 1 2 .  3 2 3 . 3 2 3 . 3 1 3 . 3 1 3 .


              -       +       -       P        -       +       -       N
	      6       3       2       1        3       2       1       6
	6 3 6 . 6 3 6 . 2 1 2 . 2 1 2 .  2 1 . 5 5 1 . . 5 1 5 . 6 1 . 6


	      -       +       -       P        -       +       -     N/G
	      5       3       2       1        3       2       1       6
	5 3 5 . 5 3 5 . 2 1 2 . 2 1 2 .  2 1 . 5 5 1 . . 5 1 5 . 6 1 . 6

In our recorded example, we have also included the drums.

This has been a very brief, and therefore, very incomplete, introduction to gamelan music. However, I hope it has been entertaining, and has possibly sparked an interest in doing some further investigation. Thanks for coming.


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