Colotomy is anIndonesian description of therhythmic andmetric patterns ofgamelan 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. In the gamelan, this is usually done bygongs of various size: thekempyang,ketuk,kempul,kenong,gong suwukan, andgong ageng. The fast-playing instruments,kempyang and ketuk, keep a regularbeat. The larger gongs group together these hits into larger groupings, playing once per each grouping. The largest gong, thegong ageng, represents the largest time cycle and generally indicates that that section will be repeated, or the piece will move on to a new section.
The details of the rhythmic patterns depend on thecolotomic structure (Javanese:bentuk), also known asgendhing structure. There are a number of different structures, which differ greatly in length and complexity; however, all of them have some colotomic characteristics.
In the gamelan, the instruments which articulate this structure are sometimes called thecolotomic instruments (alsointerpunctuating instruments orstructural instruments, while Lindsay refers to them as "phrase-making instruments"[2]). The Javanese names for these instruments are onomatopoeic, with the relative resonance of the wordsgong,kempul,kenong, andketuk being comparable to that of the instruments they name.[3] In the system of cipher gamelan notation (kepatihan notation), the colotomic parts are notated asdiacritical marks on the numbers used to show the core melody (balungan).
TheEnglish language term was coined, presumably inDutch,[4] from theGreek for a unit of rhythm (colon) and something that divides (-tomy/-tomic),[5] by theethnomusicologistJaap Kunst.[6]
Although the term "colotomic" was derived from Indonesian music theory, it can be applied to other musical traditions as well. In particular, it has been used to describe Japanesegagaku and Thaipiphat.[7]
Thelancaran is a cycle of 16 beats (keteg) in the following order:
TWTN TPTN TPTN TPTGwhere T indicates the strike of theketuk, P thekempul, N thekenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of thegong andkenong. The W indicates thewela, the pause where thekempul is omitted. Thus, thegong plays once, thekenong divides that into four parts, thekempul divides each of those in two, and theketuk divides each of those further in two. Note that except for thekenong playing on the gong, the instruments do not play when the next one plays. (Remember that thegatras of gamelan music have the strong beat (seleh) at the end, not at the beginning as is often considered normal for Western music. Thus the more important structural instruments coincide with the stressed beats.)
Colotomic structures occur on even larger scales in most gamelan pieces as well. For example, a typicallancaran has four gongs,[clarification needed] at the end of which the largergong ageng is played. Groupings of four are most common at all levels of structure, although there are numerous exceptions at larger levels.
The colotomic structure of a piece is the length of the cycle and how the interpunctuating instruments play during that cycle, but they are alsomusical forms which are associated with specific structural patterns on a larger scale than the colotomic cycle, and guidelines for whattempi andirama may be used.
Colotomic structures orGendhing structure refers to the colotomic structure of gamelan compositions in general.Gendhing (also written, as in the old orthography,gending) can also be used to refer to a specific class of colotomic structures used in Javanesegamelan music.
At its simplest,colotomic may be taken to mean, "cyclicly punctuating".[8] More clearly, "gongs of different sizes are used to mark off circular segments, or cycles, of musical time."[9] Though a colotomic structure may be hundreds of units long and is generally explicitly stated, it is akin to hierarchical Westernmeter.[9]
Mostgendhing in Javanese music conform to one of these structures, except for some special ceremonial pieces and experimental new compositions.
Colotomic structures from the general repertoire.
Gendhing is the longest and most complicated of the gendhing structures. It is typically played in a slowirama, although it may have faster sections. Gendhing are sometimes classified by whichelaborating instrument is most prominent, calledgendhing bonang orgendhing rebab. Gendhing never use thekempul orgong suwukan.
Gendhing have two parts, amerong and aminggah (or "inggah"). Both consist of a singlegongan lasting fournongan, but the nongan can be of different lengths. Gendhing are then classified according to the number ofkethuk strokes in a nongan in each section. The merong section does not use thekempyang, but the minggah section does. There are two patterns for the kethuk in the merong,arang ("infrequent, sparse") andkerep ("frequent"). Both have the kethuk play only at the end of agatra, but in the kerep pattern, it is at the end of all odd-numbered gatras, whereas in the arang, it is at the end of the gatras of doubled odd numbers (that is, gatras 2, 6, 10, 14, etc.). In the minggah section, the kempyang and kethuk play in the same pattern as in theketawang, but with no otherinterpunctuating instruments.
For an example of the gendhing structure, consider "gendhing kethuk 2 kerep minggah kethuk 4." This means that in the merong, there will be two kethuk strokes that happen on odd-numbered gatra, and in the minggah, there will be four gatras per nongan. The structure would then look like:
Merong:
...T .... ...T ...N...T .... ...T ...N...T .... ...T ...N...T .... ...T ...GMinggah:
pTp. pTp. pTp. pTpNpTp. pTp. pTp. pTpNpTp. pTp. pTp. pTpNpTp. pTp. pTp. pTpGwhere "." indicates no interpunctuating instrument plays, p indicates the stroke of thekempyang, T theketuk, N thekenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of thegong and kenong. Thus, in each section, the gong plays once, the kenong divides that into four parts, and then that is divided into parts according to the given structure. Here, in each part, each nongan lasts 16 beats (keteg), and thus the gongan lasts 64.
That was a fairly short example; a "kethuk 4 arang" merong, for example, would look like:
.... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... ...N.... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... ...N.... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... ...N.... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... .... .... ...T .... ...Gand thus a nongan would last 16 gatras (64 beats), and a gongan 64 gatras (256 beats). Obviously, in a long structure like that, especially at a slow tempo, a single gongan may last many minutes.
The merong section may include angelik, which would also have the length of a single gongan. The minggah section may also use one of the other structures, especially theladrang. If that is the case, the piece will be noted something like "minggah ladrang". If the other section has a different name, that will be given as well.
Between the merong and inggah is a bridge section called theompak. Typically it has the length of one nongan, and a contrastingbalungan melody to the merong.
Theketawang is one of the gendhing structures used in Javanese gamelan music.
Its colotomic structure is:
pTpW pTpN pTpP pTpGwhere p indicates the strike of thekempyang, T theketuk, P thekempul, N thekenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of thegong and kenong. The W indicates thewela, the pause where the kempul is omitted. Thus, the gong plays once, the kenong divides that into two parts, the kempul (or wela) divides each of those in two, the ketuk divides each of those further in two, and finally the kempyang divides each of those in two. Thekendhang usually plays in kendhang kalih style.
Ketawang usually have the specific form of anompak that lasts onegongan and may be repeated several times, and angelik that may last three or four gongan. Some ketawang have the same ompak but different ngelik. Ketawang often begin inirama tanggung and then slow down toirama dadi or slower.
The ketawang developed in the court of PrinceMangkunegara IV (r. 1853–1881) ofSurakarta.
Famous ketawang:Puspawarna.
Thelancaran is one of thegendhing structures used in Javanesegamelan music. It is the shortest of the gendhing structures that are not from thewayang repertoire.Gangsaran andbubaran are related structures that share the same colotomic structure.
Groupings of four are most common at all levels of this structure. The basiccolotomic structure is a cycle of 16 beats (keteg) in the following order:
TWTN TPTN TPTN TPTGwhere T indicates the strike of theketuk, P thekempul, N thekenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of thegong and kenong. The W indicates thewela, the pause where the kempul is omitted. Thus, the gong plays once, the kenong divides that into four parts, the kempul divides each of those in two, and the ketuk divides each of those further in two. Note that except for the kenong playing on the gong, the instruments do not play when the next one plays. The kendhang plays in kendhang kalih style. A typical lancaran has four gongs, at the end of which the largergong ageng is played.
Lancaran are usually played fast, usually inirama lancar. Some lancaran have a separate section which can be played between repetitions of the four-gongompak, known as thenyekar orlagu. Lancaran are often written inbalungan nibani.
Bubaran are played more moderately, usually inirama tanggung, but are usually written inbalungan mlaku. They also use a distinctive kendhang pattern. A bubaran is used as an ending piece, to be played while the audience is departing. The best-known bubaran isUdan Mas.
Gangsaran is a variety of lancaran which consists of simply a repeated tone. It originates from thewayang repertoire. It can appear at the end of a composition as well.
Theladrang is one of thegendhing structures used inJavanesegamelan music.
The basiccolotomic structure is a cycle of 32 beats (keteg) in the following order:
pTpW pTpN pTpP pTpN pTpP pTpN pTpP pTpGwhere p indicates the strike of thekempyang, T theketuk, P thekempul, N thekenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of thegong ageng andkenong. The W indicates thewela, the pause where thekempul is omitted. Thus, the gong plays once, thekenong divides that into four parts, thekempul divides each of those in two, theketuk divides each of those in two, and thekempyang divides each of those in two. Thekendhang usually plays inkendhang kalih style.[11]
Theladrang is similar to theketawang except that four (instead of two)nongan comprise agongan. It is also similar to thelancaran, except it is twice as slow, and thekempyang plays in between each beat of thelancaran.[11]
Manyladrang have two sections, anompak and angelik, each of which typically last onegongan.Ladrang can be played in anyirama except forlancar.[11]
InJavanesegamelan music, there are a fewgendhing structures derived from thewayang repertoire:Ayak-ayakan,Sampak, andSrepeg.
Theayak-ayakan is one structure.
The colotomic structure is:
...P ...PTNTN TNTNwith both lines played together, and T indicating a stroke of thekethuk, P thekempul, and N thekenong. The kenong and kempul always play theseleh. Inslendromanyura, thegong suwukan is used instead of the kempul.
Gongans are of varying length, according to thepathet. The ending (suwuk) can occur at different points in the cycle, given the cue from thekendhang orkepyak.
It usually begins inirama lancar, and then slows down to tanggung, dados, or rangkep.
The ayak-ayakan is often used to accompany the entrance of puppets, or the transition betweenpathets.
Sampak is another structure. A sampak often follows asrepeg. It is the fastest of the wayang structures.
The colotomic structure is:
NNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNTPTPTPTP TPTPTPTPwith both lines played together, and T indicating a stroke of thekethuk, P thekempul, and N thekenong. The kenong and kempul always play theseleh. It does not use thekempyang.
Gongans are of varying length, usually two, three, or fourgatras, based on a signal from thekendhang. The ending (suwuk) can occur at any point in the cycle, given the cue from thekendhang orkepyak, and consists of a gatra played after thegong. The melodic shape of a sampak is distinctive, as the gatras are repeated notes in thepathet. It is played inirama lancar.
Sampakpélog barang:
2222 3333 77777777 2222 66666666 3333 2222xx22This sampak has three gongan. The signal to end can come at any gong, where the player plays the next two notes as normal, and then 22 (as indicated byxx22).
Srepeg is another colotomic structure:
...P...P ...P...PTNTNTNTN TNTNTNTNwith both lines played together, and T indicating a stroke of thekethuk, P thekempul, and N thekenong. The kenong and kempul always play theseleh.
Gongans are of varying length, according to thepathet. The ending (suwuk) can occur at any point in the cycle, given the cue from thekendhang orkepyak. The melodic shape of a srepeg is distinctive, as it consists mostly of theseleh alternating with aneighbor tone.
It is usually fast and played inirama lancar.
| Theory |   | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genres & ensembles |
| ||||||||||
| Musicians | |||||||||||
| Instruments |
| ||||||||||
