Siter
Encyclopedia
The siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan
. They are related to the kacapi
used in Sundanese
gamelan.
The siter and celempung each have between 11 and 13 pairs of strings, strung on each side, between a box resonator. Typically the strings on one side tuned to pélog
and the other to slendro
. The siter is generally about a foot long and fits in a box (which it is set upon while played), while the celempung is about three feet long and sits on four legs, and is tuned one octave below the siter. They are used as one of the elaborating instruments (panerusan
), that play cengkok
(melodic patterns based on the balungan
). Both the siter and celempung play at the same speed as the gambang
(which is rapidly).
The name "siter" comes from the Dutch
word "citer", which corresponds to the English
word "zither". "Celempung" is related to the Sundanese musical form celempungan
.
The strings of the siter are played with the thumbnails, while the fingers are used to dampen the strings when the next one is hit, as is typical with instruments in the gamelan. The fingers of both hands are used for the damping, with the right hand below the strings and the left hand above them.
Siters and celempung of various sizes are the characteristic instrument in Gamelan Siteran
, although they are used in many other varieties of gamelan as well.
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....
. They are related to the kacapi
Kacapi
Kacapi is a zither-like Sundanese musical instrument played as the main accompanying instrument in the Tembang Sunda or Mamaos Cianjuran, kacapi suling genre , pantun stories recitation or an additional instrument in Gamelan Degung performance.Word kacapi in Sundanese also refers to santol tree,...
used in Sundanese
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
gamelan.
The siter and celempung each have between 11 and 13 pairs of strings, strung on each side, between a box resonator. Typically the strings on one side tuned to pélog
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...
and the other to slendro
Slendro
Slendro is a pentatonic scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music, the other being pélog.-Tuning:...
. The siter is generally about a foot long and fits in a box (which it is set upon while played), while the celempung is about three feet long and sits on four legs, and is tuned one octave below the siter. They are used as one of the elaborating instruments (panerusan
Panerusan
The panerusan instruments or elaborating instruments are one of the divisions of instruments used in the gamelan. Instsead of the rhythmic structure provided by the colotomic instruments, and the core melody of the balungan instruments, the panerusan instruments play variations on the balungan...
), that play cengkok
Cengkok
Cengkok are patterns played by the elaborating instruments in the Javanese gamelan. Typically they are melodic patterns that lead to the seleh, following the rules of the pathet of the piece....
(melodic patterns based on the balungan
Balungan
The balungan is sometimes called the "core melody" of a Javanese gamelan composition. This corresponds to the view that gamelan music is heterophonic: the balungan is then the melody which is being elaborated....
). Both the siter and celempung play at the same speed as the 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...
(which is rapidly).
The name "siter" comes from the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
word "citer", which corresponds to the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "zither". "Celempung" is related to the Sundanese musical form celempungan
Celempungan
Celempungan is a Sundanese musical genre that includes several musical instruments such as Kacapi, Kendang, Goong/Gong, and Suling or Rebab , and Juru Kawih . kendang, the drum, controls the tempo of the ensemble and reinforces the meter....
.
The strings of the siter are played with the thumbnails, while the fingers are used to dampen the strings when the next one is hit, as is typical with instruments in the gamelan. The fingers of both hands are used for the damping, with the right hand below the strings and the left hand above them.
Siters and celempung of various sizes are the characteristic instrument in Gamelan Siteran
Gamelan Siteran
Gamelan Siteran is a casual style of gamelan in Java, Indonesia, featuring portable, inexpensive instruments instead of the heavy bronze metallophones of a typical gamelan. A typical group consists of varieties of siter , kendang , and a large end-blown bamboo tube or a gong kemodhong, functioning...
, although they are used in many other varieties of gamelan as well.