The Javanese siter and
celempung
The Javanese siter and celempung are plucked string instruments used in Javanese gamelan. They are related to the ''kacapi'' used in Sundanese people, Sundanese gamelan.
The siter and celempung each have between 11 and 13 pairs of strings, str ...
are plucked string instruments used in Javanese
gamelan
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
. They are related to the ''
kacapi
The kacapi is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similar to Chinese , Japanese '' koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played as the main accompa ...
'' used in
Sundanese gamelan.
The siter and celempung each have between 11 and 13 pairs of strings, strung on each side, between a box resonator. Typically the strings on one side tuned to
pélog
Pelog (, , ) is one of the essential tuning systems used in gamelan instruments that has a heptatonic scale. The other, older, scale commonly used is called ''slendro''. ''Pelog'' has seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have keys for ...
and the other to
slendro
Slendro () is one of the essential tuning systems used in gamelan instruments that have pentatonic scale (music), scale. Based on Javanese people, Javanese mythology, the Slendro Gamelan tuning system is older than the ''pélog'' tuning system. ...
. The siter is generally about a foot long and fits in a box (which it is set upon while played), while the celempung is about three feet long and sits on four legs, and is tuned one octave below the siter. They are used as one of the elaborating instruments (
panerusan
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, ...
), that play
cengkok
Céngkok () (old orthography: ''tjengkok'') are patterns played by the elaborating instruments used in Indonesian Javanese gamelan. They are melodic formula that lead to a '' sèlèh'',Brinner, Benjamin (2008). ''Music in Central Java'', p.157. ...
(melodic patterns based on the
balungan
The ''balungan'' () is sometimes called the "core melody" or, "skeletal melodic outline," of a Javanese gamelan composition. This corresponds to the view that gamelan music is heterophonic: the ''balungan'' is then the melody which is being ela ...
). Both the siter and celempung play at the same speed as the
gambang (which is rapidly).
The name "siter" comes from the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
word "citer", which corresponds to the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
word "zither". "Celempung" is related to the Sundanese musical form
celempungan.Not to be confused with Sundanese celempung is a different instrument, made of bamboo and played by beating the bamboo strings cut from the bamboo skin.
The strings of the siter are played with the thumbnails, while the fingers are used to dampen the strings when the next one is hit, as is typical with instruments in the gamelan. The fingers of both hands are used for the damping, with the right hand below the strings and the left hand above them.
Siters and celempung of various sizes are the characteristic instrument in
Gamelan Siteran, although they are used in many other varieties of gamelan as well.
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Citer met 26 snaren onderdeel van gamelan Slendro TMnr 500-10.jpg, Celempung or siter in the collection of the Collection National Museum of World Cultures Foundation, Netherlands.
See also
*
Gamelan
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
*
Kethuk
The kempyang and ketuk are two instruments in the gamelan ensemble of Indonesia, generally played by the same player, and sometimes played by the same player as the kenong. They are important beat-keepers in the colotomic structure of the gamel ...
*
Bonang
The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...
*
Gambang
*
Music of Indonesia
Indonesia is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area t ...
*
Music of Java
The Music of Java embraces a wide variety of styles, both traditional and contemporary, reflecting the diversity of the island and its lengthy history. Apart from traditional forms that maintain connections to musical styles many centuries old, ...
External links
NIU page on the siter, with illustrationsVirtual Instrument Museum page on the celempung, with audio and video
Box zithers
Panerusan instruments
Gamelan instruments
Indonesian musical instruments
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