Gamelan notation

Depending on the tuning of the individual gamelan, it is often possible to hear the pitches 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of slendro as an anhemitonic pentatonic scale,[3] do-re-mi-sol-la.

However, in the pélog system pitches are simply numbered from low to high 1–7 and there is no question of interpreting these sounds diatonically.

Beams or lines (overscores) above notes indicate half the standard duration (although this is an area of notation that is often inaccurate in practice).

Additional symbols are needed for some instruments; for example, melismas and slurred bowing are noted by lines above or underneath the numbers.

When instruments from other traditions are combined with gamelan (e.g. violin, erhu, tap dancer, bagpipes), notation may be given to those players only if they are accustomed to it.

In Yogyakarta a ladder-like vertical staff allowed notation of the balungan by dots and also included important drum strokes.

In this respect, kepatihan is more suitable, although the usage of overscores (taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé system) continues to cause practical difficulties.

The main changes are typographical: ciphers are darkened (thickened) for enhanced readability and the line-height is significantly reduced (saving page space).

[5][7] During the early 2000s multiple simplified offsprings of the Kepatihan-font were widely used for cipher-notation of church hymns all over Indonesia, and reportedly even spread to China.

[8] • Downloadable KepatihanPro font for Mac and IBM in the Library of the American Gamelan Institute Archived 2012-08-02 at archive.today