''Irama'' is the term used for

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

. It can be used with elaborating instruments. It is a concept used in

nese gamelan music, describing melodic tempo and relationships in density between the balungan,

elaborating instrument The panerusan instruments or elaborating instruments are one of the divisions of instruments used in Indonesian gamelan. Instead of the rhythmic structure provided by the colotomic instruments, and the core melody of the balungan instruments, t ...

s, and gong structure. It is distinct from tempo ( Javanese: ''Laya''), as each ''Irama'' can be played in different tempi. ''Irama'' thus combines "the rate of temporal flow and temporal density"; and the temporal density is the primary factor.Sumarsan, 1996. page 156 One way to think of ''Irama'' is to use the most consistently struck instrument in the gamelan, the '' saron panerus'' (or ''peking''). In some pieces, it plays once per note in the ''balungan'' (such as played by the '' saron barung''). In others, it may play twice as often, or four times, as the notes of the ''balungan'' are more spread out. This corresponds to a slower ''Irama''. In most cases, the more spread out the ''balungan'' is, the longer it takes to reach a ''

gong ageng The gong ageng (or gong gedhe in Ngoko Javanese, means large gong) is an Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra and the only large gong t ...

''. There are five ''Irama'': In slower ''Irama'', there is more space to be filled, and typically elaborating instruments become more important. Each ''Irama'' can be played in three ''Laya'' ("tempi"): * ''Seseg'' ("fast"), * ''Sedeng'' ("medium") * ''Tamban'' ("slow"). Frequently, a change of ''Laya'' signals a new section.

Bibliography

* Spiller, Henry. ''Gamelan: the traditional sounds of Indonesia''. ABC-Clio, 2004. * Sumarsan. ''Gamelan: cultural interaction and musical development in central Java''. University of Chicago Press, 2nd Edition, 1996.

References

{{Gamelan Gamelan theory Rhythm and meter

See also

Bibliography

References