Ketawang

The ketawang is one of the gendhing structures used in Javanese gamelan music.

Its colotomic structure is:

pTpW pTpN pTpP pTpG

where p indicates the strike of the kempyang, T the ketuk, P the kempul, N the kenong, and G the simultaneous stroke of the gong and kenong. The W indicates the wela, the pause where the kempul is omitted. Thus, the gong plays once, the kenong divides that into two parts, the kempul (or wela) divides each of those in two, the ketuk divides each of those further in two, and finally the kempyang divides each of those in two. The kendhang usually plays in kendhang kalih style.

Ketawang usually have the specific form of an ompak that lasts one gongan and may be repeated several times, and a ngelik that may last three or four gongan. Some ketawang have the same ompak but different ngelik. Ketawang often begin in irama tanggung and then slow down to irama dadi or slower.

The ketawang developed in the court of Prince Mangkunegara IV (r. 1853-1881) of Surakarta.

Famous ketawang

• Puspawarna

References

• Neil Sorrell. A Guide to the Gamelan. London: Faber and Faber, 1990. Page 68.

v t e Gendhing structures in Javanese gamelan Wayang Ayak-ayakan Sampak Srepeg General Gendhing Ketawang Lancaran Ladrang