Merong
Encyclopedia
The merong is a section of a composition for Java
nese gamelan
, a musical ensemble featuring metallophones, xylophone
s, drum
s, and gongs. Specifically, the merong is the initial part of a gendhing
. A merong cannot be played on its own, but must be followed by a minggah
, which may also take the form of a ladrang
or other colotomic structure.
The merong is the longest of the sections used in gamelan composition. It consists of a single gongan lasting four nongan, but the nongan can be of different lengths. Merong are then classified according to the number of kethuk strokes in a nongan in each section. The merong does not use the kempyang or kempul
. There are two patterns for the kethuk in the merong, arang ("infrequent, sparse") and kerep ("frequent"). Both have the kethuk play only at the end of a gatra
, 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.).
For example, consider a "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. The structure would then look like:
where "." indicates no interpunctuating instrument plays, p indicates the stroke of the kempyang, T the ketuk, N the kenong
, and G the simultaneous stroke of the gong
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:
and 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 a ngelik
, which would also have the length of a single gongan.
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, a musical ensemble featuring metallophones, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
s, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and gongs. Specifically, the merong is the initial part of a gendhing
Gendhing
The gendhing is a class of gendhing structures used in Javanese gamelan music. Gendhing can also be used to refer to gamelan compositions in general....
. A merong cannot be played on its own, but must be followed by a minggah
Minggah
The minggah or inggah is a section of a gendhing composition for gamelan.It follows the merong, after an ompak. It is distinguished from the previous section by the use of kempyang. In the minggah section, the kempyang and kethuk play in the same pattern as in the ketawang, but with no kempul, and...
, which may also take the form of a ladrang
Ladrang
The ladrang is one of the gendhing structures used in Javanese gamelan music.The basic colotomic structure is a cycle of 32 beats in the following order:...
or other colotomic structure.
The merong is the longest of the sections used in gamelan composition. It consists of a single gongan lasting four nongan, but the nongan can be of different lengths. Merong are then classified according to the number of kethuk strokes in a nongan in each section. The merong does not use the kempyang or kempul
Kempul
A kempul is a type of hanging gong used in Indonesian gamelan. It is often placed with the gong suwukan and gong ageng, hanging on a single rack, at the back of the gamelan, and these instruments are often played by the same player with the same mallets...
. There are two patterns for the kethuk in the merong, arang ("infrequent, sparse") and kerep ("frequent"). Both have the kethuk play only at the end of a gatra
Gatra
A gatra is a unit of melody in Javanese gamelan music, analogous to a measure in Western music. It is often considered the smallest unit of a gamelan composition....
, 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.).
For example, consider a "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. The structure would then look like:
-
- ...T .... ...T ...N
- ...T .... ...T ...N
- ...T .... ...T ...N
- ...T .... ...T ...G
where "." indicates no interpunctuating instrument plays, p indicates the stroke of the kempyang, T the ketuk, N the kenong
Kenong
The kenong is one of the instruments used in the Indonesian gamelan. It is technically a kind of gong, but is placed on its side and is roughly as tall as it is wide. It thus is similar to the bonang, kempyang and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs are generally much larger than any of...
, and G the simultaneous stroke of the gong
Gong ageng
The gong ageng is . It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra...
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 .... ...G
and 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 a ngelik
Ngelik
The ngelik is a part of an Indonesian gamelan composition that contrasts from the surrounding section, either the ompak or merong. It is also sometimes called the gendhing proper, in contrast to the bubuka gendhing ....
, which would also have the length of a single gongan.