Link: Texture

Let’s talk about texture! The instruments in a gamelan ensemble are divided into three groups; punctuating instruments, main melody instruments (balungan), and elaborating instruments. In Pagodes, through the way the melodic voices are layered into 3 sections, a similar grouping is created. The equivalents are compared in the charted below:

The way gamelan music is layered, some instruments create counter-melodies at higher registers such as the bonang and gambang, while some at lower registers. Some instruments simply play at different rhythmic paces/ tempos such as the kendhang, to create variations in texture. Pagodes has a similar use of layers, with all of the melodic voices at different registers, and many at different ‘tempos’ created through the use of different note values. In the picture below you will understand how the layers have been imitated in Pagodes.