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Gamelan gong kebyar is a modern style or genre of Balinese gamelan music. Kebyar means "the process of flowering", and refers to the explosive changes in tempo and dynamics characteristic of the style. It is the most popular form of gamelan in Bali, and its best known musical export.[citation needed] Gong kebyar music is based on a five-tone scale called pelog selisir (tones 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the 7-tone pelog scale), and is characterized by brilliant sounds, syncopations, sudden and gradual changes in sound colour, dynamics, tempo and articulation, and complex, complementary interlocking melodic and rhythmic patterns called kotekan.
[edit] HistoryGamelan Gong Kebyar was first documented to exist in North Bali in the early 1900s. The first public performance was in December 1915 at a gamelan gong competition in Jagaraga, North Bali. Ten years later, I Mario of Tabanan is said to have created kebyar dance to accompany the music.[citation needed] [edit] InstrumentsInstruments in Gamelan Gong Kebyar offer a wide range of pitches and timbres, ranging five octaves from the deepest gongs to the highest key on a gangsa. The high end can be described as "piercing," the low end "booming and sustained," while the drums as "crisp." Kebyar instruments are most often grouped in pairs, or "gendered." Each pair consists of a male and female instrument, the female being slightly larger and slightly lower in pitch. See tuning in this article to learn why this is. [edit] Keyed InstrumentsMost instruments in kebyar are keyed metallophones, with bronze keys resting on suspended chords, over bamboo resonators. The instruments often have ornately carved wooden frames. The gansa section in gamelan gong kebyar is the largest section, consisting of 13 players. Gangsa instruments are played with a mallet, called a pongul gangsa. The mallet differs in hardness depending on the instrument and its range. The keys are arranged from low to high, left to right. The key is struck with the hammer in one hand, and dampened with the finger and second knuckle of the other hand. The keys can be played in one of three ways:
[edit] Gangsa KantilanThere are four kantilan in kebyar, two male and two female. See gendered instruments within this article. These instruments are the highest sounding in the kebyar ensemble, with its highest note being around C7. It has ten keys, and a range of two octaves, and is played with a wooden hammer. Players often sit on the floor to play this instrument. [edit] Gangsa PemadéThere are also four pemadé in kebyar, two male and two female. These instruments also have ten keys, a range of two octaves, and are played with a wooden mallet, but are exactly one octave lower than kantilan. Players often sit on the floor to play this instrument. [edit] UgalThere is usually only one ugal in the kebyar ensemble, and it is usually female. It is played by one of the leaders of the ensemble. It is taller than the other gansa, and the player sits on a short stool, so as to allow the player to cue the ensemble visually with ease. The instrument also has 10 keys, has a range of two octaves, and is played with a wooden mallet. It is an octave lower than the gangsa pemadé. [edit] CalungThere are two calung in kebyar, one male and one female. These instruments have a range of one octave, five keys, and have a range in between pemadé and ugal. [edit] Jegogan There are two jegogan in kebyar, one male and one female. These instruments have a range of one octave, and are one octave below calung. The keys are considerably larger than those of other gangsa, and are played with a rather large, cloth-coated, rubber-padded spherical mallet. [edit] Kettle Drum FamilyKettle drums are round, bronze, and pitched. They are often mounted horizontally, on suspended chords as part of a frame. Positioned this way, there is an opening on the bottom and a bump on top, called the boss. The kettles are arranged form low to high, left to right. They are all played with a wooden mallet wrapped in string on one end (to soften the sound). It is either struck by the stringed part of the mallet, or the tip of the mallet (which is not covered in string), dampened by inaudibly touching the boss with the same mallet, and can be struck with the mallet in three ways:
[edit] ReyongAlso spelled, reong, this instrument consists of 12 kettle drums mounted horizontally on its frame and in a row. It is played by four players, each taking responsibility for 2-4 of its kettles. The players, who are sitting in a row, are split into two groups, the first consisting of the first and third player (in the row), and the second consisting of the second and forth player. Both people in the same group play the same part, but doubled an octave apart. the part of group one and the part of group two, when played together, are interlocking. Reyong has a non-melodic, percussive role. [edit] TrompongThe trompong is not usually used in kebyar, as it is associated with older genres such as gamelan gong gdé. When it is used, however, it is positioned in front of the ensemble, facing the audience. Constructed similarly to Reyong, it consists of 10 kettles, with a range of two octaves. It is played by only one person, and that person is a leader of the ensemble and sits on a short stool, playing the main melodic line. Because of the size of the instrument, the melodies are composed to allow the player to slowly shift their stool left or right to allow them to play lower or higher. [edit] KempliThe kempli is a singular kettle drum that is responsible for keeping tempo for the ensemble. In kebyar, the kempli most often plays every beat. It is played with the same mallet as reyong and trompong and struck on the boss, but is dampened with the other hand to produce a dryer, sharper sound. [edit] Gong FamilyGongs come in different sizes, and provide a structure for phrasing for the music by repeating a four or eight beat pattern. This pattern is called the gong cycle. Gongs are mounted vertically. [edit] Gong GedéAlso referred to as just gong, gong gedé is the deepest, and most resonant. Because it is the largest of the gongs, it is considered to be the most sacred instrument in kebyar. It is never dampened, always allowed to decay. Because of its deep tone, it penetrates through the ensemble and can be heard for miles. It is struck with a large, padded mallet. [edit] KempurA medium-sized gong, the kempur is very similar to gong gedé as it has very similar qualities, but is just higher in pitch (about an octave and a fifth higher). It is struck with a large, padded mallet. [edit] KlentongAlso known as the kemong, this is much smaller and higher in pitch than the kempur. It is struck with a harder mallet than either the gong gedé or kempur, which allows it to have a sharper attack. [edit] Other Instruments[edit] KendangThe kendang is a double-headed, conical-shaped drum. There are two in the kebyar ensemble, one male and one female. Much like the syllables for pitches used for pitched instruments, the kendang have a set of onomatopoetic spoken syllables for each sound you can get. There is a separate set of syllables for the male and female drums. Kendang is played with either a bare hand or mallet. The two players play an interlocking part. The player of the female version of the kendang is often the leader or one of the leaders of the ensemble, playing special patterns to cue new sections. [edit] Ceng-CengPronounced chang-chang, this instrument consists of several small, overlapping cymbals nailed to a frame. The frame is often carved to look like an animal, most commonly a turtle. (The turtle is believed to carry the island of Bali on its back). The player holds a cymbal in each hand, striking the overlapping cymbols in a quick, repetitive pattern. [edit] SulingOne of the two instruments able to alter pitch, the suling is a bamboo flute, blown into on one end. Suling come in a variety of sizes, from small to rather large. A group of suling players is used to double and elaborate the melody. The player circular breathes to allow the pitch to be sustained into a constant tone. [edit] RebabThe rebab is a spiked fiddle played with a bow. It is only sometimes used in kebyar as it is often drowned out by the metallophones. It usually plays along with the suling, sometimes playing notes outside of the scale. It has two strings, no frets, and the strings do not touch the neck, which allows the player to change notes in a variety of ways: pressing down on the string, bending the string, sliding up and down the string, or changing strings. [edit] Kebyar Music=== [edit] Gong CycleThe music is divided into 4 beat groups called Keteg, this whole rhythmic cycle is called the gongan. The gongs divide gongan into sections, gong ageng, the largest gong, marks the end of gongen, the smaller gongs mark the 4th or 8th keteg and the smallest gongs outline the pulse. [edit] TuningThere is no standard pitch in any balinese music. Generally speaking, all instruments in a gamelan gong kebyar ensemble are made (and tuned) at the same time. Each ensemble is tuned to itself, making it unlikely to remove an instrument from one ensemble and using it in another and have it match pitch. In any ensemble, however, instruments are gendered, and their individual tuning depends on that instruments gender. [edit] Gendered InstrumentsAlmost every instrument in a kebyar ensemble is paired with a male and female counterpart. Each instrument in a pair is tuned differently from its counterpart, one higher and one lower. Played at the same time, the higher instrument (known as pengisep or "inhaler") and the lower instrument (known as the pengumbang or "exhaler"), produce a beating effect (ombak) and creates an overall shimmering, pulsating quality. The female instrument is tuned lower, while the male instrument is tuned higher. For example, one note on a female gangsa pemadé might be tuned to 220 Hz, while the male gansa pemadé might be tuned slightly higher to 228 Hz. A kebyar ensemble is usually tuned so that the number of beats per second stays consistent throughout the range of the ensemble, although sometimes an ensemble is tuned where the beats are slightly faster for higher frequencies. [edit] References
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