View source for Imbal

{{short description|Indonesian musical melody used in Gamelan}}
{{Refimprove|auto=yes|date=December 2009}}
{{Language with name/for|jv|'''Imbal'''|to [[repetition (music)|repeat]]}}<ref name="Kunst">Kunst, Jaap (2013). ''Music in Java: Its history, Its Theory and Its Technique'', p.169. Springer. {{ISBN|9789401771306}}.</ref> or {{lang|jv|'''imbalan'''}} ({{lang|jv|'''imbal-imbalan'''}}, {{lang|jv|'''demung imbal'''}}) is a technique used in [[Indonesia]]n [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[gamelan]]. It refers to a rapid alternation of a melodic line between instruments, in a way similar to [[hocket]] in medieval music or ''[[kotekan]]'' in Balinese gamelan. "A style of playing in which two identical or similar instruments play interlocking parts forming a single repetitive melodic pattern."<ref>[[Judith Becker|Becker, Judith O.]] (1984). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=fC0qAQAAIAAJ&q=imbal Karawitan: source readings in Javanese gamelan and vocal music : interim glossary, Volume 1]''. Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan.</ref>

{{Quote|This imbal is a method of playing in which the [[balungan|nuclear theme]] is played by one of the nyaga's 'broken up' into half-values (say, two crotchets [quarter notes] for every minim [half note]), what time another player beats alternately with the first, but in such a  way that his tones, each of which comes between two of his colleague's, are always one step lower than the nuclear theme tone immediately preceding it. From practical considerations this imbal is, if possible, divided over two [[saron demung|demungs]]; if only one such instrument is available, the two players sit facing each other. The player who beats the nuclear theme tones is said to play the ''gawé'' (...); the other one, the ''nginţil'' ({{=}} inseparable, following like a shadow) (...).|[[Jaap Kunst]]<ref name="Kunst"/>}}

In Javanese gamelan, it is used especially for the ''[[saron (instrument)|sarons]]'' and the ''[[bonang]]s''. On the ''bonangs'', an ''imbal'' pattern is divided between the ''bonang panerus'' and ''bonang barung'', in the octave or so of range that both instruments have. When played on ''sarons'', generally two of the same instrument are used. Both ''bonang'' and ''saron'' patterns generally are made of scalar passages that end on the ''[[seleh]]'' at the end of the ''[[gatra (music)|gatra]]''. Each key is [[dampening|dampened]] as soon as the other instrument plays, and it allows the melody to be played faster or more smoothly than is possible by a single performer. "Basically, there are two bonang-playing techniques: ''imbal-imbalan'' and ''[[pipilan]]''. Imbal-imbalan (interlocking) refers to the playing technique in which bonang barung and bonang panerus play interlocking patterns."<ref>[[Sumarsam]] (1995). ''Gamelan: Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java'', p.217. University of Chicago. {{ISBN|9780226780115}}.</ref>

{{Quote|One of the hallmarks of Yogyanese style, especially suited to the performance of loud-playing pieces, is the interlocking alternation of two ''demung'' parts, known as ''imbal demung''. ... ''Imbal'' is a widely practiced technique, popular in some Solonese genres and throughout Java.<ref>Sutton, R. Anderson (1991). ''Traditions of Gamelan Music in Java: Musical Pluralism and Regional Identity'', p.49. CUP Archive. {{ISBN|9780521361538}}.</ref>}}

On the ''[[bonang]]s'', an ''imbal'' passage is usually followed by a ''[[sekaran]]''.

==See also==
{{Portal|Music|Indonesia}}
* [[Gamelan]]
* [[Panerusan]]
* [[kotekan]]
* [[Gatra (music)|Gatra]]
* [[Gendhing structures]]
* [[Music of Indonesia]]
* [[Music of Java]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Gamelan}}

[[Category:Gamelan theory]]
[[Category:Musical techniques]]