Gamelan Nyai Saraswati

Gamelan Nyai Saraswati is an ensemble of the Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Education

Links:
Introduction to Gamelan by Prof. Sumarsam
Gamelan Glossary

Topic:  Introduction to the Peking  (other topics:  Introduction to Gamelan Music ,  Introduction to the Bonang )


Introduction to the Peking

Introduction to the Peking

Good references for additional material:

The peking, or saron panerus, is one of the most prominent of elaborating instruments in the Javanese gamelan. Played with a small hard mallet, and in the highest registers of the gamelan, it has a softly biting, metallic sound. This characteristic, and the relatively simple elaboration it provides over the balungan melody, makes it a primary time-keeper and melodic anticipator, a responsibility it shares with the bonang.

A peking has the same layout as other sarons:

     (slendro)
    L6  1  2  3  5  6 H1

     (pelog)
     1  2  3  4  5  6  7

PEKING PATTERNS

The peking anticipates and elaborates on the the basic balungan melody played by the slenthem and sarons. The patterns the peking plays depends on the irama (reflecting the tempo at which the balungan plays).

IRAMA TANGGUNG

In irama tanggung (the starting tempo of most pieces we play) the peking plays twice as many notes as the balungan. Each peking pattern is generally an elaboration of each group of two balungan notes. The standard irama tanggung pattern for the two gatras [2 3 2 1] [3 2 1 6] preceded by 6 is:

 |                               |                               |
(6)      2       3       2       1       3       2       1       6      BALUNGAN
(6)  6   2   2   3   3   2   2   1   1   3   3   2   2   1   1   6   6  PEKING (tanggung)
 |                               |                               |

Notice that the peking merely doubles the melody of the balungan in irama tanggung. Note also that the peking does not anticipate the balungan melody in irama tanggung; the peking switches notes only when the balungan does.

IRAMA DADI

In irama dadi, which is twice as slow as irama tanggung, the peking needs to play twice as many notes. A standard irama dadi pattern for 2 3 2 1   3 2 1 6 preceded by 6 is:

 |                               |                               |
(6)      2       3       2       1       3       2       1       6     BALUNGAN
(6)6 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 6 6 1 1 6 6   PEKING (dadi)
 |   |-------------| |-------------| |-------------| |-------------|
 |                               |                               |

This pattern is slightly more complicated, but the derivation is straightforward. For each group of two balungan notes, say, 2 3, the peking pattern becomes 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3, with the two balungan notes falling on the 3rd and 7th notes of the peking pattern. The interplay of the peking pattern and the balungan melody is much better appreciated aurally than visually (nearly all audio files available here have representative peking playing). However, it is useful to see how the peking anticipates the balungan melody (playing a 3 in the first gatra before the balungan), and how each pattern of eight notes (corresponding to two balungan notes) ends slightly after the balungan notes that they correspond to.

SWITCHING IRAMAS

One of the hardest things for a new peking player to master is the art of switching between iramas. The difficulty lies partly in the fact that the irama switch invariably happens at the end of a pattern rather than between two patterns, but also partly in knowing the appropriate moment to switch. Both these things require the ability to anticipate the density of the new irama and determining that that density would be stylistically appropriate before actually switching to it.

Switching between irama makes no changes to the patterns illustrated previously. Consider the gatras [5 3 2 1] [3 2 3 1] preceded by 1. Assume the irama switch from irama tanggung to irama dadi happens between the two gatras. The pattern would then be:

 |                               |                               |
(1)      5       3       2       1       3       2       3       1     BALUNGAN
(1)  1   5   5   3   3   2   2   1 1 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 1   PEKING
 |                               |                               |
 tanggung                        dadi

Note here that the irama switch happens at the last note of the gatra, and incorporates the last two notes of the peking pattern in the previous gatra. The pattern (5 5 3 3 2 2 1 1) does not change, but the last two notes are played twice as fast, after which the appropriate pattern for the new irama (dadi) is played as usual.

Much a similar transformation happens in the other direction. Consider the same gatras but moving from irama dadi back to irama tanggung:

 |                               |                               |
(1)      5       3       2       1       3       2       3       1     BALUNGAN
(1)1 5 5 3 3 5 5 3 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 1   1   3   3   2   2   3   3   1   1 PEKING
 |                               |                               |
 tanggung                        dadi

The irama switch again happens at the last note of the gatra, and incorporates the last two notes of the peking pattern in the previous gatra. The end of the pattern (2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1) does not change, but the last two notes are played twice as slowly, after which the appropriate pattern for the new irama (tanggung) is played as usual.

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

If the balungan melody has rests in the melody, generally one can consider them extensions of the previous note for the purposes of deriving peking patterns. However, if the balungan consistently plays rest, note, rest, note (nibani), one would, for the purposes of deriving peking patterns, replace them with fully populated four-note gatras that are appropriate to the piece.

Experienced peking players may introduce subtle variations into the standard patterns for variety. This topic is outside the scope of this document (and beyond the knowledge of the author!)

YOGYANESE STYLE

The type of peking playing described until now has been Solonese style (as practiced in Solo/Surakarta). Yogyanese-style peking (as practiced in Yogyakarta) is very similar to Solonese style, but the patterns are shifted earlier by one note. So the patterns for the gatras [2 3 2 1] [3 2 1 6] preceded by 6 in Yogyanese-style are:

 |                               |                               |
(6)      2       3       2       1       3       2       1       6  BALUNGAN
(6)  2   2   3   3   2   2   1   1   3   3   2   2   1   1   6   6  PEKING (tanggung)
 |                               |                               |

 |                               |                               |
(6)      2       3       2       1       3       2       1       6  BALUNGAN
(6)2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 6 6 1 1 6 6  PEKING (dadi)
 | |-------------| |-------------| |-------------| |-------------|
 |                               |                               |

One consequence of this shift are that the end of each peking pattern ends exactly at the end of the last balungan note in each gatra. Therefore, switching iramas is simplified because the irama switch need not account for the extra notes "hanging over" from the previous gatra -- one can play a full pattern completely in one irama and then play the next pattern in the new irama. This style of peking playing is more anticipatory than the Solonese style because peking patterns for a gatra start even earlier. It is also very similar to how the bonang patterns line up with balungan notes.

The recording of Ladrang Epikuros from Lou Harrison's Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Central Javanese Gamelan, available on the audio page for Gamelan Nyai Saraswati's New Music Concert, has an example of Yogyanese-style peking.


Contact:
Director: Daniel Guberman (email: guberman@email.unc.edu)
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