''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 ...
in
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 ...
in
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
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 ...
nese gamelan music,
describing
melodic
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...
tempo and relationships in density between the
balungan
The ''balungan'' ( jv, skeleton, frame) is sometimes called the "core melody" or, "skeletal melodic outline," of a Javanese gamelan composition. This corresponds to the view that gamelan music is heterophonic: the ''balungan'' is then the melody ...
,
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
The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It normally has seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame (''rancak''). It is usually about 20 cm (8 in) high, and is played on the floor by a s ...
'' (or ''peking''). In some pieces, it plays once per note in the ''balungan'' (such as played by the ''
saron barung
The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It normally has seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame (''rancak''). It is usually about 20 cm (8 in) high, and is played on the floor by a s ...
''). 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.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Gamelan notation
Notation plays a relatively minor role in the oral traditions of Indonesian gamelan but, in Java and Bali, several systems of gamelan notation were devised beginning at the end of the 19th century, initially for archival purposes.
Kepatihan
Kepa ...
*
Music of Indonesia
As it is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, the music of Indonesia ( id, Musik Indonesia) itself is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region have its own culture and art, and as a r ...
*
Music of Java
The Music of Java embraces a wide variety of styles, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting the diversity of the island and its lengthy history. Apart from traditional forms that maintain connections to musical styles many centuries old, ...
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