
A gendèr is a type of
metallophone
A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), such as tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, usual ...
used in
Balinese and
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
nese
gamelan
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned
metal
A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a
mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head.
General overview
The term is descriptive of the ...
made of wooden disks (Bali) or a padded wooden disk (Java). Each key is a note of a different pitch, often extending a little more than two octaves. There are five notes per octave, so in the seven-note
pélog scale, some pitches are left out according to the
pathet
Pathet (, also patet) is an organizing concept in central Javanese gamelan music in Indonesia. It is a system of tonal hierarchies in which some notes are emphasized more than others. The word means '"to damp, or to restrain from" in Javanese ...
. Most gamelans include three gendèr, one for
sléndro, one for pelog pathet nem and lima, and one for pelog pathet barang.
The ''gendèr'' is similar to the Balinese
gangsa, which also has an individual resonator under each key, and the
saron, which, although trough-resonated, does have a set of tuned metal bars or keys. It is also similar to the Javanese
slenthem, which is pitched lower and has fewer notes. The melodies of the two hands sometimes move in
parallel motion
Parallel may refer to:
Mathematics
* Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect
* Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits
Science a ...
, but often play
contrapuntally. When playing gendèr barung with two mallets, the technique of
dampening
In physical systems, damping is the loss of energy of an oscillating system by dissipation. Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing or preventing its oscillation. Examples of damping include ...
, important to most gamelan instruments, becomes more challenging, and the previously hit notes must be dampened by the same hand immediately after the new ones are hit. This is sometimes possible by playing with the mallet at an angle (to dampen one key and play the other), but may require a small pause.
Types of gendèrs
In some types of gamelan, two gendèrs are used, both spanning approximately two and a half octaves, the gendèr barung and the gendèr panerus, pitched an octave higher than the other. In
Gamelan Surakarta, the gendèr panerus plays a single line of melodic pattern, following a pattern similar to the
siter. The gendèr barung plays a slower, but more complex melodic pattern that includes more separate right and left hand melodic lines that come together in kempyung (approximately a fifth) and gembyang (octave) intervals. The three sizes of gendèr are called
jegogan
Gamelan gong kebyar is a style or musical genre, genre of Balinese gamelan music of Indonesia. ''Kebyar'' means "to flare up or burst open", and refers to the explosive changes in tempo and dynamics (music), dynamics characteristic of the styl ...
(the largest),
jublag, and
penyacah. A pair of ten-bar gendèr are called giying.
Loud-playing and Soft-playing styles
The gamelan plays in two different ensemble types: loud-playing ensemble and soft-playing ensemble. The gendèr is used in both styles. The soft-playing style includes voices and instruments like
gambang,
celempung,
rebab
''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...
, gendèr panerus, and gendèr barung. The loud-playing styles only include instruments like
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 ...
, siyem,
kempul,
kenong
The Kenong is a musical instrument of Indonesia used in the gamelan. It is a kind of gong and is placed on its side. It has the same length and width. Thus, it is similar to the bonang, kempyang, and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs ...
,
kethuk,
kempyang, engkuk-kemong,
bonang
The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...
family,
saron family, gendèr slenthem,
kendhang
A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug/ Bajau/ Maranao: ''gandang'', Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary in ...
family, and
bedhug.
Both types of gendèr play semi-improvised patterns called
cengkok, which generally elaborate upon the
seleh
The ''sèlèh'' note or ''nada seleh'' is an Indonesian music concept used in Javanese gamelan music. In Javanese gamelan music, the ''sèlèh'' note or ''nada seleh'' is the final note of a '' gatra'', or four- beat melodic unit. As such it is t ...
. These are relatively fixed patterns, but can be varied in a number of ways to suit the style,
pathet
Pathet (, also patet) is an organizing concept in central Javanese gamelan music in Indonesia. It is a system of tonal hierarchies in which some notes are emphasized more than others. The word means '"to damp, or to restrain from" in Javanese ...
,
irama
''Irama'' is the term used for tempo in Indonesian gamelan in Java and Bali. It can be used with elaborating instruments. It is a concept used in Javanese gamelan music, describing melodic tempo and relationships in density between the balungan ...
, and mood of the piece, as well as the skill of the performer. The cengkok repertoire for gendèr are more developed and specific than those for most other
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, ...
s. Similarly, the gendèr barung is likely to give cues for changing parts or irama, especially in the absence of a
rebab
''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...
, which usually leads the ensemble.
It may also play the
buka of a piece.
See also
*
Gamelan
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
*
Bonang
The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...
*
Kethuk
*
Music of Java
References
External links
Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gender
Panerusan instruments
Plaque percussion idiophones
Keyboard percussion instruments