Pathet
Encyclopedia
The pathet is an organizing concept in gamelan
music. It is difficult to explain, but is similar to the melody type
s, that is, for example, modes, raga
s, or maqamat
, of other musics.
Javanese often give poetic explanations of pathet, such as "Pathet is the couch or bed of a melody." In essence, a pathet indicates which notes are stressed in the melody, especially at the end of phrases (seleh
), as well as determines which elaborations (cengkok
and sekaran
) are appropriate. In many cases, however, pieces are seen as in a mixture of pathets, and the reality is often more complicated than the generalizations indicated here, and depend on the particular composition and style.
and slendro
. The systems correspond to each other in emphasized pitches, as in the table given below (given in kepatihan notation), although of course the numbers do not indicate the same frequencies.
It will be noticed that manyura is one step higher than sanga, and indeed it is common to transpose entire pieces from one patet to the other as well as to share cengkok at different transpositions.
Note that in pélog, 4 is always a dissonant pitch, since elaborating instruments such as gendér
and
gambang
cannot play it, and usually play the adjacent pitches 3 or 5 instead.
Pathet barang is the only pathet to feature 7 as a common note. The avoided notes are only rare as seleh
, especially in slendro; in pélog the rare notes are rare anywhere. The names "tonic" and "dominant," though the analogy to classical music
is not strong, are used by some sources. Another system of designation, used by Mantle Hood
, is Gong Tone I for the stressed note, Dasar for the strong note, and Gong Tone II for another strong note involved in the cadential system.
Two other terms are sometimes encountered for pélog: pathet bem and pathet manyura. Pathet bem is used as a general term to cover pélog pathet nem and lima (especially in Jogya, where that distinction is not traditionally made), which use the same subset (121356) of the pélog scale and are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Mantle Hood
found through an analysis of gendhing
in these pathet that they remain distinct in their typical patterns. The other pathet, pélog pathet manyura,
also called pélog nyamat, is a direct transfer from slendro manyura into pélog, without the substitution of 7 for 1 as in pathet barang. It is observed in a small collection of gendhing.
s that appear in the balungan
at the ends of the buka
and gongan, particularly at the ends of sections. Here the relationship between the pélog and slendro pathet is obscured, as they have different typical formulas, and slendro sanga and pélog nem are made more similar:
These cadences appear all in the same octave. Therefore, pélog barang and manyura are quite distinct in their contour, as the penultimate note is in a different register. This preference for certain cadential contours within a pathet, according to Hood, led to the dominance of a single-octave saron
to play the balungan.
, the pathet of the accompaniment goes from slendro nem to slendro sanga to slendro manyura as the night progresses. The different pathet are often associated with different emotions or ideas, often because of their associations in wayang.
Many pieces can be transposed from one pathet to another. Sometimes this involves some substitutions of notes; this depends on the traditions surrounding a piece. Most cengkok
and sekaran
have corresponding forms in different pathet.
Each pathet has a small collection of pathetan, melodies in free meter which are often said to express the
essence of the pathet. They are played instrumentally by a group of the soft elaborating instruments at the conclusion of long pieces in order to reiterate the pathet, or at the beginning of a piece when the pathet has changed in order to establish the new pathet. Pathetan can also be sung by the dhalang in a wayang
or dance
performance.
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....
music. It is difficult to explain, but is similar to the melody type
Melody type
In ethnomusicology and musicology, a melody type is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns which are used in the composition of an enormous variety of music, especially non-Western and early Western music. Such music is generally composed by a process of centonization, either freely In...
s, that is, for example, modes, raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s, or maqamat
Arabic maqam
Arabic maqām is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type...
, of other musics.
Javanese often give poetic explanations of pathet, such as "Pathet is the couch or bed of a melody." In essence, a pathet indicates which notes are stressed in the melody, especially at the end of phrases (seleh
Seleh
The seleh note or nada seleh is a concept used in Javanese gamelan music. It is the final note of a gatra, or four-beat melodic unit.The main underlying melodic structure of a gamelan piece, called the balungan, is grouped into four-beat units...
), as well as determines which elaborations (cengkok
Cengkok
Cengkok are patterns played by the elaborating instruments in the Javanese gamelan. Typically they are melodic patterns that lead to the seleh, following the rules of the pathet of the piece....
and sekaran
Sekaran
Sekaran is a type of elaboration used in the Javanese gamelan, especially on the bonang barung.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...
) are appropriate. In many cases, however, pieces are seen as in a mixture of pathets, and the reality is often more complicated than the generalizations indicated here, and depend on the particular composition and style.
Classification
In Javanese music there are traditionally six pathet, three for each tuning system, pelogPelog
Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. The other scale commonly used is called slendro. Pelog has seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have keys for five of the pitches...
and slendro
Slendro
Slendro is a pentatonic scale, one of the two most common scales used in Indonesian gamelan music, the other being pélog.-Tuning:...
. The systems correspond to each other in emphasized pitches, as in the table given below (given in kepatihan notation), although of course the numbers do not indicate the same frequencies.
| Pélog Pathet |
Corresponding Slendro Pathet |
Stressed "tonic" |
Strong "dominant" |
Avoided in slendro |
Rare in pélog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pélog nem | Slendro nem | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Pélog lima | Slendro sanga | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Pélog barang | Slendro manyura | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
It will be noticed that manyura is one step higher than sanga, and indeed it is common to transpose entire pieces from one patet to the other as well as to share cengkok at different transpositions.
Note that in pélog, 4 is always a dissonant pitch, since elaborating instruments such as gendér
Gendér
A gendér is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks or a padded wooden disk . Each key is a note of a different pitch, often...
and
gambang
Gambang
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu is a xylophone-like instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan...
cannot play it, and usually play the adjacent pitches 3 or 5 instead.
Pathet barang is the only pathet to feature 7 as a common note. The avoided notes are only rare as seleh
Seleh
The seleh note or nada seleh is a concept used in Javanese gamelan music. It is the final note of a gatra, or four-beat melodic unit.The main underlying melodic structure of a gamelan piece, called the balungan, is grouped into four-beat units...
, especially in slendro; in pélog the rare notes are rare anywhere. The names "tonic" and "dominant," though the analogy to classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
is not strong, are used by some sources. Another system of designation, used by Mantle Hood
Mantle Hood
Mantle Hood was an American ethnomusicologist. Among other areas, he specialized in studying gamelan music from Indonesia. Hood pioneered, in the 1950s and 1960s, a new approach to the study of music, and the creation at UCLA of the first American university program devoted to ethnomusicology...
, is Gong Tone I for the stressed note, Dasar for the strong note, and Gong Tone II for another strong note involved in the cadential system.
Two other terms are sometimes encountered for pélog: pathet bem and pathet manyura. Pathet bem is used as a general term to cover pélog pathet nem and lima (especially in Jogya, where that distinction is not traditionally made), which use the same subset (121356) of the pélog scale and are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Mantle Hood
Mantle Hood
Mantle Hood was an American ethnomusicologist. Among other areas, he specialized in studying gamelan music from Indonesia. Hood pioneered, in the 1950s and 1960s, a new approach to the study of music, and the creation at UCLA of the first American university program devoted to ethnomusicology...
found through an analysis of 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....
in these pathet that they remain distinct in their typical patterns. The other pathet, pélog pathet manyura,
also called pélog nyamat, is a direct transfer from slendro manyura into pélog, without the substitution of 7 for 1 as in pathet barang. It is observed in a small collection of gendhing.
Cadences
According to Mantle Hood, one of the clearest distinctions between the pathet are the typical cadenceCadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
s that appear in the balungan
Balungan
The balungan is sometimes called the "core melody" of a Javanese gamelan composition. This corresponds to the view that gamelan music is heterophonic: the balungan is then the melody which is being elaborated....
at the ends of the buka
Buka (music)
The buka is the short introduction to pieces of gamelan. It is also called the bubuka or bubuka opaq-opaq....
and gongan, particularly at the ends of sections. Here the relationship between the pélog and slendro pathet is obscured, as they have different typical formulas, and slendro sanga and pélog nem are made more similar:
- Slendro
- Nem: 6-5-3-2
- Sanga: 2-1-6-5
- Manyura: 3-2-1-6
- Pélog
- Lima: 5-4-2-1 (old) or 5-3-2-1 (new)
- Nem: 2-1-6-5
- Barang: 3-2-7-6
- Manyura: 3-2-1-6
These cadences appear all in the same octave. Therefore, pélog barang and manyura are quite distinct in their contour, as the penultimate note is in a different register. This preference for certain cadential contours within a pathet, according to Hood, led to the dominance of a single-octave saron
Saron (instrument)
The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame . It is usually about 20 cm high, and is played on the floor by a seated performer...
to play the balungan.
Use
In an evening of wayangWayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
, the pathet of the accompaniment goes from slendro nem to slendro sanga to slendro manyura as the night progresses. The different pathet are often associated with different emotions or ideas, often because of their associations in wayang.
Many pieces can be transposed from one pathet to another. Sometimes this involves some substitutions of notes; this depends on the traditions surrounding a piece. Most cengkok
Cengkok
Cengkok are patterns played by the elaborating instruments in the Javanese gamelan. Typically they are melodic patterns that lead to the seleh, following the rules of the pathet of the piece....
and sekaran
Sekaran
Sekaran is a type of elaboration used in the Javanese gamelan, especially on the bonang barung.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...
have corresponding forms in different pathet.
Each pathet has a small collection of pathetan, melodies in free meter which are often said to express the
essence of the pathet. They are played instrumentally by a group of the soft elaborating instruments at the conclusion of long pieces in order to reiterate the pathet, or at the beginning of a piece when the pathet has changed in order to establish the new pathet. Pathetan can also be sung by the dhalang in a wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
or dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
performance.