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| Classification | |
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| Developed | Indonesia |
Agendèr is a type ofmetallophone used inBalinese andJavanesegamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tunedmetal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with amallet 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-notepélog scale, some pitches are left out according to thepathet. Most gamelans include three gendèr, one forsléndro, one for pelog pathet nem and lima, and one for pelog pathet barang.
Thegendèr is similar to the Balinesegangsa, which also has an individual resonator under each key, and thesaron, which, although trough-resonated, does have a set of tuned metal bars or keys. It is also similar to the Javaneseslenthem, which is pitched lower and has fewer notes. The melodies of the two hands sometimes move inparallel motion, but often playcontrapuntally. When playing gendèr barung with two mallets, the technique ofdampening, 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.
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.[1] InGamelan Surakarta, the gendèr panerus plays a single line of melodic pattern, following a pattern similar to thesiter. 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 calledjegogan (the largest),jublag, andpenyacah. A pair of ten-bar gendèr are called giying.[2]
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 likegambang,celempung,rebab, gendèr panerus, and gendèr barung. The loud-playing styles only include instruments likegong ageng, siyem,kempul,kenong,kethuk,kempyang, engkuk-kemong,bonang family,saron family, gendèr slenthem,kendhang family, andbedhug.[3]
Both types of gendèr play semi-improvised patterns calledcengkok, which generally elaborate upon theseleh. These are relatively fixed patterns, but can be varied in a number of ways to suit the style,pathet,irama, 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 otherelaborating instruments. Similarly, the gendèr barung is likely to give cues for changing parts or irama, especially in the absence of arebab, which usually leads the ensemble.[4] It may also play thebuka of a piece.
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