The ngelik (or lik) is a part of an 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 ...
composition that contrasts from the surrounding section, either the
ompak
The ompak or umpak ("bridge") is a section of a gamelan composition.
It refers to the opening gongan of a ladrang or ketawang, or four gongans of the lancaran. These sections are usually repeated, and can be repeated as often as desired. This s ...
or
merong The merong is a section of a composition for Javanese gamelan, a musical ensemble featuring metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs. Specifically, the merong is the initial part of a gendhing. A merong cannot be played on its own, but must be fo ...
. It is also sometimes called the ''gendhing proper'', in contrast to the bubuka gendhing (i.e. ompak).
The ngelik is often associated with a higher pitch, and is usually the part where the
gerong sings the main melody of the composition. As many
ketawang
''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
have the same ompak, the ngelik can be the main determinant of what the piece is.
Ngelik vary in length, but are usually longer than the surrounding ompak in a
ketawang
''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
, the same length as the ompak in a
ladrang
''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
, and the same length as the merong in a
gendhing
''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
. The latter two are typically one
gongan in length (like the surrounding section), whereas the ketawang ngelik is usually three or four gongan.
References
* Neil Sorrell. ''A Guide to the Gamelan''. London: Faber and Faber, 1990. Page 80.
Sections of gamelan compositions