Balinese Gamelan: Types

Gamelan Jegog

Gamelan jegog is a style of gamelan played on bamboo marimbas. It originates from Jembrana, in western Bali. The melodies of this ensemble weave together a complex melodic texture from a four tone scale, which is unique within the gamelan sphere.

The ensemble includes three Barangan, which plays the main melody, three kantilan and three suir, playing an interlocking figuration. The melody is played by two undir, two celuluk at a higher octave and a jegog at a lower octave. A bamboo flute, the suling, accompanies the melody. There might also be drum(Kendang), cymbals(ceng-ceng) and a small gong(tawa-tawa) in the ensemble.

Gamelan gong gede

The Gamelan gong gede is a traditional ceremonial form of music using large gongs. It originates from the court societies of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and are associated with important festivities such as temple festivals.

It is usually performed by a temple orchestra, which consists of more than 40 musicians. In contrast to other forms of Balinese gamelan, it has a slow tempo and can be describe as graceful. It fluctuates in cycles - one loud, one soft, one fast, one slow. The largest gong provides the main cyclical beat.

Gamelan gambang

The gamelan gambang consists of four gambang, a xylophone-like instrument and two sarons. It is performed mainly for temple or funeral rights and is considered sacred and ancient.

Gamelan Selunding

The Selunding variety of the gamelan ensemble originates from the village of Tenganan in East Bali.

Gamelan Semar Pegulingan

The gamelan Semar Pegulingan, named after the Hindu god of love, is a style that originates from seventeenth century Bali. It was initially used for lulling the royal family to sleep. It has a sweeter and more reserved sound as compared to other forms of Balinese gamelan. This style of ensemble includes the suling and trompong.

Balinese Gamelan: Instruments

Core Instruments

Gong, Jegog

Calung, Penyacah

The core instruments lay out the basic melody and structure of the music. The gong marks the cyclical end of the piece, the calung plays a simplified melody and the Jegog doubles the melody of the Calung at a lower octave.

The Gangsa

The Gansa section of the ensemble is made up of the Ugal, Kantilan and Pemade. The Ugal, the lower pitched of the three, usually plays the core melody or the elaboration of it. The other two instruments decorate the core melody with the interlocking, rapid patterns(Ketokan).

The Kettle Gongs

The kettle gongs of the Balinese gamelan ensemble are called the Trompong and Reyong. They have a variety of uses, depending on the type of gamelan they are used in. They can be solo instruments or as an decoration of the musical piece. They are also used for rapid patterns, similar to the gangsa.

Balinese Gamelan: Overview

Bali is a home to various style of Gamelan ensembles, much like the rest of the Indonesian archipelago. With the island itself, there are many forms of Gamelan, but generally has its own styles that makes it distinct from the rest of the regions.

Balinese music is generally described as vigorous, explosive and energetic as compared to their Javanese counterparts. The sound is bright and percussive, with the use of hard hammers or horns used for many instruments and the frequent clash of the cymbals.

Kotekan

A prominent musical characteristic of Balinese gamelan would be the Kotek, which is the sharing of the musical line by two players sharing pitches, making for a much faster pace of performance.

A Balinese dance performance featuring Angsel
Another characteristic of Balinese Gamelan would be Angsel, which is a break during a continuous line for emphasis on a dance move or musical gesture.

Kalimantan, Borneo - Sampek

A Sampek is a traditional instrument of the Dayak Kenyah tribe of Kalimantan. It is a boat lute instrument - shaped like a boat with a hollow stern. They are carved from a single tree trunk and are decorated with traditional tribal patterns in black and red plakat paint. The tuning head is carved in the form a of deer or a hornbill bird, which are sacred animals to the tribe.

Sampek

The Sampek is usually performed during folk celebrations such as the rice harvest celebrations of Gawai Padai. It can be played alone, or in an ensemble, and is often paired with a Datun Julut dance.

There is a legend amongst the Dayak behind the creation of the Sampek. It was that of a man caught in a shipwreck being healed to health by a melodious tune. It is believed that he was rescued by his ancestors and brought home safely. The man then created the instrument upon his homecoming.

Kalimantan, Borneo - Tingkilan

Tingkilan group orchestras are a common form of traditional music for the Kutai tribes in Kalimantan.

They consists of one Gambus, five maruas, one cello and some singers(male or female).

Gambus

Gambus is a short necked lute that has its origins in Yemen. It has twelve nylon strings that are plucked with a plastic plectrum much like a guitar, but it has no frets.

Maruas

Maruas is a drum, with a wooden frame and leather pinned onto its sides.

Tingkilan music is usually performed with two singers with the frequent content of love advice or a dialogue between the two characters.

Sunda, West Java - Kecapi Suling

Kecapi Suling is a form of Sundanese music from West Java. It is essentially Tembang Sunda minus vocals, and also interludes between songs at a typical Tembang Sunda performance. The higher pitched is kecapi rincik and the lower pitched is  kecapi indung. Suling is used during a kecapi suling performance. Kecapi Suling has instrumental pieces performed in two different scales; the first four in laras pelog convey a light mood, the last four, in laras sorog are more slow and grave. 

Kecapi Suling is a genre of Sundanese music that emerged around the middle of the twentieth century developed from an earlier tradition of Tembang Cianjuran, more specifically from improvised interludes played between the songs during its performance by the accompanying ensemble. 

It consists of one or two kecapi (zithers), one suling (flute) and occasionally a set of kendang (drums). It is essentially Tembang Cianjuran without vocalist, sharing the repertoire and playing techniques. Discarding the vocalist from the ensemble does however result in several differences in sound - as the ensemble without vocalist is no longer "aristocratic" it is effectively much less confined to formal music rigor, giving it more freedom for improvisation, rhythm changes and variable track lengths. Lack of vocalist also tends to result in a higher emphasis being put on flute player virtuosity.

Sunda - Gamelan Degung