Gamelan gong kebyar is a modernistic style or genre of Balinese Gamelan music. Kebyar means "the process of flowering", and refers to the explosive changes in tempo and dynamics characteristic of the style. In America, it is Bali's best known music.
The gamelan orchestra comprises a variety of metallophones (called gangsa ), gongs, and other instruments, such as flutes (suling), fiddles (rebab ), drums(kendang ) and cymbals (ceng-ceng ). Gong kebyar music is based on a five-tone scale called pelog selisir and is characterized by brilliant sounds, syncopations, sudden and gradual changes in sound colour, dynamics, tempo and articulation, and complex, complementary interlocking melodic and rhythmic patterns called kotekan. The metallophones are tuned in pairs slightly apart which produces a beating effect (ombak) when the same tone is played on the paired instruments and creates an overall shimmering, pulsating quality. The kebyar style developed out of older ensembles and first emerged in the early 20th century.
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