Balinese Dance, Drama & Music. I Wayan Dibia

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.

      This inverted kettle gong (reyong) set is played by two pairs of players, one pair playing the polos part and the other pair playing the sangsih. Aside from the drum, this is the most difficult instrument to master in the gamelan.

      In the colotomic structure of a tabuh (musical piece), the pace is kept by the kempli or kajar, a small flat gong on a short stand or held in a musician's lap and struck with a wooden beater. The large gong (gong agung) is struck on beat eight, the kemong on beat four, and the kempli on beats two and six, for example. The kempur is a medium-sized gong and alternates with the large gong, punctuating phrases. The small klenang is struck on the offbeat.

      The ugal plays the main melodic line while the other gangsa play kotekan to elaborate the melody. The jublag play the core melody while the bass-like jegogan strike every two or four notes. The reyong and ceng-ceng play off one another and fill in around the gangsa. The suling and rebab elaborate the melody. The drums set the rhythm and tempo. In general, there is no virtuoso playing, although a group may be known for its superb drummers or complex kotekan. An entire group can be called bergaya ("flashy").

      No music notation is used; everything is learned entirely by rote. When learning a new piece, the teacher calls out the notes. Occasionally, a composer may write down the core melody but none of the kotekan is noted. Gamelan groups fiercely guard their trademark compositions, yet it is easy for others to figure out the tune simply by listening to a cassette recording and copying it.

      Gongs

      The large gong (gong agung) is the central instrument of the gamelan ensemble. The offerings are always laid to rest at the foot of this gong. In the musical structure, the gong is the exclamation point at the end of a musical phrase. The smaller gongs (kempli, kemong, kempur) alternately provide punctuation of the phrase, while the kajar is the timekeeper, coordinating with the klenang that marks the upbeat. The role and the sound of the gongs overrides their technical ease of playing.

      Tuning within the Ensemble

      A Balinese gamelan is not tuned to one common scale, but to itself. A village can request a particular tuning for its gamelan when having a new one made or an old one refurbished. Musicians are familiar with both scales—pelog and slendro—which roughly compare to major and minor scales in Western music. The scales are not absolute, for pelog and slendro refer to intervals between notes as opposed to actual pitches. Pelog can be a four-, five-or seven-note scale of uneven intervals. Slendro can be a four-or five-note scale with roughly equal intervals.

      The Balinese use the solfa names (ding, dong, deng, dung and dang) with a gap after deng and dang for the more common pelog scale. An example is E-F-G-B-C. Pelog and Slendro can be further broken down into two saih (scales). Saih pitu (seven-note) is found in the Gambuh, Gambang, Semaradhana and Semar Pagulingan ensembles. The more common saih lima (five-note) is used in Gong Gede, Gong Kebyar, Gamelan Pelegongan and Gamelan Bebarongan. Gamelan Jegog of West Bali is the only ensemble with a four-note pelog scale.

      A typical slendro scale could be construed as A-C-D-E-G. This approximates the Western penta-tonic scale and is used in Gender Wayang, Joged Bumbung, Gamelan Wayang Wong and Gamelan Parwa. The four-note slendro scale is used by Gamelan Angklung, although a five-tone Gamelan Angklung in North Bali is common.

      Battle of the Bands

      During the 1950s, a new phenomena called mebarung occurred where two different gamelan groups would perform against one another on stage. Oftentimes they did the same pieces so that the audience could judge which was the better or more innovative group. Today, mebarung refers more to a friendly evening of music from two well-matched groups.

      Kebyar