Kotekan

"Kotekan" is a style of playing fast interlocking parts in most varieties of Balinese Gamelan music, including Gamelan gong kebyar, Gamelan angklung, Gamelan jegog and others. In "kotekan" there are two independent parts called "polos" and "sangsih", each of which fills in the gaps of the other to form a complete rhythmic texture. In Gamelan gong kebyar, Kotekan is usually played on the higher-pitched "gangsa" and "reyong" as embellishment to the main melody ("pokok") played on the "calung" and "ugal".

:"Note: In the transliteration of Balinese used here, the letter "c" represents a sound similar to English "ch"."

Nyog cag

"Nyog cag" is a straightforward alternation between "polos" and "sangsih", each playing only every other note of a scale or other melodic figuration. Though structurally the simplest form of "kotekan", "nyog cag" can be difficult to play accurately, especially because it is used at the fastest tempos.

Nyok cok

"Nyok cok" is an ornamentation of the "pokok" melody in which "polos" and "sangsih" anticipate the next pitch of the "pokok "in unison and then each plays one of its neighbor tones.

Kotekan telu

In "kotekan telu", the "polos" and "sangsih" share a set of three pitches ("telu" means three in Balinese). One of the parts plays the low and middle pitches, the other plays the middle and high pitches. The middle pitch is always played in unison by both parts except if "kotekan telu" is played by the reyong, because the two or four players share the same set of pots.

Kotekan empat

"Kotekan empat" is similar to "kotekan telu", except in this case there are four pitches ("empat" means "four"). One part plays the lower two and the other plays the upper two; there is no sharing of pitches. Usually the lowest and highest pitches are struck simultaneously, and the interval they form varies depending upon where the notes fall in the scale and the tuning of the ensemble.

Kotekan theory

"Kotekan" are typically composed by elaborating the "pokok" melody. The subdivisions of the composite "kotekan" are usually played four or eight times faster than the "pokok". Since the "kotekan patterns" are either three notes ("telu") or three sounds (the "empat" has two solo pitches plus the unison interval), the simple patterns do not repeat every four or eight notes. This can be illustrated in the following example:

Kotekan 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 etc... Pokok 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 1 . . . etc...

The above is the most basic example of a kotekan "telu". In the example the numbers refer to the different pitches being played. The "kotekan" is repeating the same pattern over and over. Note that the "pokok" is the exact same pattern played four times slower. The "kotekan" would be divided into "polos" and "sangsih" as follows:

Polos 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 etc... Sangsih . 2 3 . 2 3 . 2 3 . 2 3 . 2 3 . etc... Pokok 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 1 . . . etc...

If the "pokok" changes, the "kotekan" will follow it. Here is a simple example that is similar to the first example except that it changes direction.

Kotekan 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 etc... Pokok 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . etc...

Notice that this example can repeat over and over. Here is what the separate parts might look like:

Polos 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 2 1 . 2 1 . 2 etc... Sangsih . 2 3 . 2 3 . 2 3 2 . 3 2 . 3 2 etc... Pokok 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . etc...

Here is the same melody with "kotekan empat":

Polos 1 2 . 1 2 . 1 2 . 2 1 . 2 1 . 2 etc... Sangsih 4 . 3 4 . 3 4 . 3 4 3 . 4 3 . etc... Pokok 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . etc...

The "polos" part is the same as the previous example. However, the "sangsih" part is very different.

References

*"Balinese Music" (1991) by Michael Tenzer, ISBN 0-945971-30-3. Included is an excellent sampler CD of Balinese Music.
*"Gamelan Gong Kebyar: The Art of Twentieth-Century Balinese Music" (2000) by Michael Tenzer, ISBN 0-226-79281-1 and ISBN 0-226-79283-8.
*"Music in Bali" (1966) by Colin McPhee. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

See also

* Hocket
* Imbal

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y771-AxrFA Demonstration of kotekan on YouTube] -- Note: In this version, both performers are using the same instrument, which is not normally how it is performed.
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=RbCuEOXvuoE Demonstration of kotekan on YouTube]