with tiers of frangipani flowers to symbolize a mountain, the seat of the gods, which quiver at every head movement. Balinese pray with flowers, and dance is indeed a type of prayer.
What is Gamelan?
Gamelan is the set of instruments which make up an ensemble. This could be as few as two gender (metallophones) or as many as sixty different percussive instruments. The way the instruments are played and tuned, and the cacophony of sound produced-clashing cymbals, booming gongs and clanging keys, all with a complex drum beat holding it together-give gamelan its unique flavor. There are over thirty different types of gamelan ensembles in Bali.
The late I Made Lebah, a famous drummer from Peliatan, plays the drum for the Gamelan Pelegongan. The drum is the dynamic leader in a Balinese ensemble.
The grantang, a bamboo xylophone of the Joged Bumbung ensemble, is played using a pair of sticks with round rubber tips. The left hand plays the melody, while the right hand provides the elaboration.
The History of Gamelan
The first written evidence of gamelan is found in the Sukawana and Bebetin prasasti (metal inscriptions) from the ninth century. The terms parapadaha (drummers) and pamukul (percussionists) from the Sukawana prasasti, and pabunjing (angklung player) and pabangsi (rebab player) from the Bebetin manuscript indicate gamelan activities existed during the Bali Kuno (ancient Bali) period.
According to a noted musician, the late I Nyoman Rembang, gamelan can be divided into three categories. Ensembles in the tua category (old or ancient, prior to the fifteenth century) are seven-tone pelog, which are found mostly in Bali Aga villages of North and East Bali. These do not use drums and the melodies are eerily haunting. Madya ensembles (middle or sixteenth to nineteenth century) developed in the courts with drums and knobbed gongs. The baru (modern or twentieth century to the present) feature drumming and complex interlocking parts.
Most gamelan originally came from the courts of Java. During the Majapahit kingdom (some call it the Golden Age of Hindu-Buddhist civilization), from 1343 to 1511, art flourished under the patronage of the royal families. Bali was a vassal state of Majapahit at this time. When Islam took hold in Java, many members of royalty and their courtiers moved to Bali, bringing with them their belief system and their arts.
The Dutch, who had colonized Java since the 1700s, had only limited control in parts of North and West Bali from 1849 until the turn of the century. In 1906, they invaded South and East Bali, eventually gaining control over the entire island. With both administrative and military power in their hands, the influence of the palaces declined, along with their patronage of the arts. Another phenomenon occurred during this time: the birth of the Gamelan Gong Kebyar. Villagers in North Bali, where this started, melted down the keys on their old gamelan to transform them into new Kebyar orchestras (see p. 25).
Metallophones
A metallophone is an instrument where metal is struck to produce a sound. There are two kinds of metallophones in gamelan: gangsa, which are hit with one mallet, and gender, which are struck with two mallets. The keys are suspended over bamboo resonators cased in beautifully carved jackfruit or teak wood. Some of the gangsa, such as the gender rambat below, have carvings from traditional Balinese stories or fables worked on them. Each note hit must be immediately damped using the left hand, otherwise the sound becomes "muddy, Gangsa players pride themselves on their "clean and crisp" playing, especially when playing the kotekan or interlocking beats.
"Bursting open" and "sudden burst of flame" are only two ways to translate the word kebyar, which most definitely describes the music. Until 1915, game-Ian music was rather monotone in its melodic and rhythmic configurations. Drastic changes in the instruments occurred in North Bali during this time. The incredible energy of Gamelan Gong Kebyar sounded discordant to some Balinese back then. Yet this was a reflection of the social situation; the destabilization of society could be heard in this new music. Up until this time, the music created a mood, an ambience; it filled the space with gentle notes and embraced the listener. Kebyar, on the other hand, pervaded the space in an aggressive way.
Composer and choreographer I Gede Manik of Jagaraga village in Buleleng is thought to be one of the precursors of this style. By the mid-1920s, Gong Kebyar had spread to the south of Bali, and by the 1930s it was well established throughout the island.
The instruments are all percussive with two exceptions: the suling (end-blown bamboo flutes) and the rebab (two-stringed bowed lute). The majority are metallophones (gangsa and gender) with 7-14 metal keys hung over bamboo resonators, spanning 2-3 octaves, and struck with a panggul (mallet).
Musical Principles
A number of musical principles are important within the gamelan. The musicians must play as one ensemble, to be nges (musically tight). There is no room for individuality, so hours and hours of rehearsal can go into preparing for a performance.
All of the metallophones are tuned in pairs to the same pitch but one instrument is tuned slightly higher than the other, resulting in a phenomenon known as "beating" when the two notes are struck simultaneously. This results in a beautiful shimmering sound (ombak or "wave") which permeates the entire ensemble, referred to as ngumbang ngisep ("bee sucking honey"); the higher note is called pengisep and the lower one pengumbang.
Paired tuning extends to gongs and drums, classified as male or female. The lower pitched drum (kendang wadon) is female and the higher pitched one (kendang lanang) is male. The female drum cues musicians and dancers alike. The large hanging gongs are also identified as male and female.
The most striking feature of Balinese music is the use of interlocking configurations (kotekan). This involves two gangsa, two reyong or two drums, each pair playing complementary parts which consist of polos ("simple"), the downbeat, and sangsih ("differing"), the upbeat. For the cymbals in the marching Balaganjur ensemble and Kecak (vocal chanting), a third part is added. Each part on its own sounds incomplete, but once partnered, produces a rich and full texture of sound.
Playing the instruments requires quick reflexes. A key is struck with the mallet held in the right hand, and as soon as the next one is struck the fingers of the left hand damp the previously struck key to stop its sound. Gender damping is done with the sides of the wrists and requires great dexterity and coordination (see p. 51). When playing complicated kotekan, it is imperative that each note be struck and damped clearly so that the sound does not become "muddy."
Gongs and Colotomic Structure
Balinese music is generally performed in an eight-beat phrase called a gong cycle, with the gong marking the end on beat eight. This is the opposite of Western music where the emphasis is on the first beat. Other gongs divide the phrase into smaller units. This is called colotomic structure. The gong cycle is symbolic of the never-ending cycle of life. The Balinese conceptualize time as a loop. This is evident in their cyclical calendar. The belief in reincarnation of the soul also mirrors the idea of cycles.
The most prolific instrument in the gamelan is the gangsa or metallophone. Struck with a hammer with one hand and damped with the other, an extraordinary sound is produced.
