Gamelan Surakarta
Encyclopedia
A typical large, double gamelan
in contemporary Solo (Surakarta
) will include, in the sléndro
set, one saron panerus (or saron peking), two saron barung, one or two saron demung, one gendér
panerus, one gender barung, one slenthem
(or "gender panembung"), one bonang
panerus and one bonang barung (each with twelve gong
s), one gambang
kayu, one siter
or celempung, one rebab
, one suling
, one pair of kethuk and kempyang, one set of three to five kenong
, one set of three to five kempul
, one to three gong suwukan, and one gong ageng
.
The complementary set of pelog
instruments will include two each of gender panerus, gender barung, gambang and site or celempung, the first of each pair tuned to the pelog bem subset of five tones (tones 1,2,3,5,6), the second to the pelog barang subset of five tones (2,3,5,6,7). The pelog bonang will each have fourteen gongs.
The slendro and pelog gamelan will usually share the drum
s (kendang
), including one each of ketipung, kendang ageng (or kendang gendhing), ciblon, kendang wayangan, and, in the largest gamelan, a large hanging drum, the bedug. Archaic ensembles may still include such instruments as the gambang gangsa, slentho
(in place of slenthem), and bonang panembung. A typical performance ensemble includes a female vocal soloist (pesinden) and male chorus (gerongan); in certain passages, the singers clap rhythmically (keplok
).
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
in contemporary Solo (Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
) will include, in the sléndro
Slendro
Slendro is a pentatonic scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music, the other being pélog.-Tuning:...
set, one saron panerus (or saron peking), two saron barung, one or two saron demung, one gendér
Gendér
A gendér is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks or a padded wooden disk . Each key is a note of a different pitch, often...
panerus, one gender barung, one slenthem
Slenthem
The slenthem is a Javanese metallophone which makes up part of a gamelan orchestra.The slenthem is part of the gendér family. It consists of a set of bronze keys comprising a single octave: there are six keys when playing the slendro scale and seven when playing the pelog...
(or "gender panembung"), one bonang
Bonang
The bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame , either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher...
panerus and one bonang barung (each with twelve gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s), one gambang
Gambang
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu is a xylophone-like instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan...
kayu, one siter
Siter
The siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan. They are related to the kacapi used in Sundanese gamelan....
or celempung, one rebab
Rebab
The rebab , also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, or al-rababa) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East...
, one suling
Suling
A suling or Seruling is an Indonesian bamboo ring flute. It is used in gamelan ensembles.Depending on the regional genre, a suling can be tuned into different scales...
, one pair of kethuk and kempyang, one set of three to five kenong
Kenong
The kenong is one of the instruments used in the Indonesian gamelan. It is technically a kind of gong, but is placed on its side and is roughly as tall as it is wide. It thus is similar to the bonang, kempyang and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs are generally much larger than any of...
, one set of three to five kempul
Kempul
A kempul is a type of hanging gong used in Indonesian gamelan. It is often placed with the gong suwukan and gong ageng, hanging on a single rack, at the back of the gamelan, and these instruments are often played by the same player with the same mallets...
, one to three gong suwukan, and one gong ageng
Gong ageng
The gong ageng is . It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra...
.
The complementary set of pelog
Pelog
Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. The other scale commonly used is called slendro. Pelog has seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have keys for five of the pitches...
instruments will include two each of gender panerus, gender barung, gambang and site or celempung, the first of each pair tuned to the pelog bem subset of five tones (tones 1,2,3,5,6), the second to the pelog barang subset of five tones (2,3,5,6,7). The pelog bonang will each have fourteen gongs.
The slendro and pelog gamelan will usually share the drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (kendang
Kendang
Kendhang is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia....
), including one each of ketipung, kendang ageng (or kendang gendhing), ciblon, kendang wayangan, and, in the largest gamelan, a large hanging drum, the bedug. Archaic ensembles may still include such instruments as the gambang gangsa, slentho
Slentho
The slentho is a musical instrument of the gamelan. It is similar to the saron family of instruments, and would be its lowest member . Like those instruments, it has seven keys in the same arrangement, over a resonator box, and is hit with a wooden mallet...
(in place of slenthem), and bonang panembung. A typical performance ensemble includes a female vocal soloist (pesinden) and male chorus (gerongan); in certain passages, the singers clap rhythmically (keplok
Keplok
Keplok is a style of clapping used in Javanese gamelan. The clapping is in a specific interlocking rhythmic pattern and is performed by the gerong when they are not singing. It is usually associated with the lively ciblon or batangan drumming...
).
Comparison to Gamelan Yogyakarta
In Yogyakarta, there is a tendency to have more sarons of each register and it is more likely that the bonang panembung will be present. An archaic instrument, the celuring, a set of struck bells is found only on a few gamelan in the Yogyakarta Kraton and is played in place of the saron panerus. The Solonese style is often considered more refined (or "alus") than Yogyanese style. One specific difference is in saron peking playing; although the pattern it plays for the balungan is often the same, in the Yogyanese style it is rhythmically shifted earlier, creating a different emphasis in relation to the balungan.Further reading
- Wasisto Surjodiningrat, P.J. Sudarjana, Adhi Susanto (1993) Tone measurements of outstanding Javanese gamelan in Yogyakarta and Surakarta / translated from the Indonesian language by the authors. Penjelidikan dalam pengukuran nada gamelan-gamelan Djawa terkemuka di Jogjakarta dan Surakarta. 2nd rev. ed. Yogyakarta : Gadjah Mada University Press. ISBN 9794202738 (pbk.)