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, the panerusan instruments play
variations on the balungan. They are usually the most difficult instruments to learn in the gamelan, but provide the most opportunity for improvisation and creativity in the performer.
[ Hood, Mantle. ''The Nuclear Theme as a Determinant of Patet in Javanese Music''. New York: Da Capo, 1977. Pages 11–12.]
Panerusan instruments include the
gendér,
suling,
rebab
The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...
,
siter/
celempung,
bonang, and
gambang. The female singer, the
pesindhen, is also often included, as she sings in a similar fashion to the instrumental techniques. As these include the only
wind instruments,
string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
s, and
wooden
percussion instruments found in the gamelan, they provide a
timbre which stands out from most of the gamelan.
The notes that the panerusan instruments play are largely in
melodic formula
Melody type or type-melody is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns.
Term and typical meanings
"Melody type" is a fundamental notion for understanding a nature of Western and non-Western musical modes, according to Harold Powers' ...
s known as
cengkok and
sekaran. These are selected from a huge collection which every performer carries in his head, based on the
patet
Pathet ( jv, ꦥꦛꦼꦠ꧀, translit=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 da ...
, mood, and traditions surrounding a piece.
Sekaran
''Sekaran'' (
Javanese for "flowering") is a type of elaboration used in the Javanese
gamelan, especially on the ''
bonang barung
The bonang is an Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''rancak''), either one or two rows wid ...
''.
It is similar to the ''
cengkok'' of other
elaborating instruments in its floridity and openness to improvisation, but a ''sekaran'' generally happens only at the end of a ''
nongan'' or other
colotomic division. It is usually preceded by ''
imbal'', an interlocking pattern between the ''bonang barung'' and the ''bonang panerus''.
Different ''sekaran'' are used in different ''
pathet
Pathet ( jv, ꦥꦛꦼꦠ꧀, translit=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 da ...
'', but there are always a variety available. A good ''bonang'' player will choose a ''sekaran'' based on how the other instruments and the ''
sindhen'' are improvising.
Traditionally the ''bonang panerus'' did not play ''sekaran'', and simply continued in the ''imbal'' pattern, but now some players use ''sekaran'', as long as they maintain the fast character of typical ''bonang panerus'' parts.
See also
*
Gamelan
*
Slendro
*
Pathet
Pathet ( jv, ꦥꦛꦼꦠ꧀, translit=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 da ...
*
Cengkok
*
Seleh
*
Music of Indonesia
*
Music of Java
References
{{Gamelan
Gamelan instruments
Gamelan theory