Agatra ("embryo" or "semantic unit"[1]) is a unit ofmelody inIndonesianJavanesegamelan music, analogous to ameasure in Western music. It is often considered the smallest unit of a gamelan composition.
Agatra consists of a sequence of four beats (keteg), which are filled with notes (or rests,pin) from thebalungan. In general, the second and fourth beats of agatra are stronger than the first and third, and the final note of agatra, called theseleh, dominates thegatra. In other words, thegatras are like Western measures in reverse, with the strongest beat at the end. Importantcolotomic instruments, most notably thegong ageng, are played on that final beat. If the final beat in agatra is a rest, theseleh is the last note played. It is not uncommon in gamelan repertoire to find entiregatras of rests. Note that the actual length of time it takes to play agatra varies from less than a second to nearly a minute, depending on thetempo (laya) and theirama.
Inkepatihan notation,gatras are generally grouped together in the notation of thebalungan, with space added between them. There is, however, no pause between onegatra and the next. The different patterns of notes and rests in agatra are explained atbalungan.
Rahayu Supanggah considers the hierarchical nature of the four beats of a gatra to be reflected on a larger scale in gamelan compositions; in particular by the fournongan in agongan of themerong andinggah of agendhing. This is similar to thepadang-ulihan ("question-answer") structure key to gamelan composition.[2]
At least two sets of terms are used to describe the four notes of agatra:
Ki Sindusawarno's system: (1)ding kecil (2)dong kecil (3)ding besar (4)dong besar
Martopangrawit's system: (1)maju ('forward') (2)mundur ('back') (3)maju (4)seleh
The first word in the names is Ki Sindusawarno's system are similar to the names of the hierarchy of pitches used in Balinese music: ding represents the secondary note of apathet, anddong is similar to the Western idea oftonic.Kecil andbesar mean "small" and "large," respectively, so clearly this articulates the hierarchical system explained in the introduction, with the largest and most significant beat at the end of thegatra, and a somewhat smaller one halfway through.
The reference for the names in Martopangrawit's system is tokosokan, the direction ofbowing of therebab. It also reflects the idea that the second beat is stronger than the first and third, since drawing a bow tends to produce a stronger sound than pushing it.[2]
Although traditionallygatras have always contained four notes, a few recent experimental pieces have usedgatras of other lengths, often because of Western music. An example by a Javanese composer isPak Marto'sParisuka.[3]
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