Kotekan

It creates a unique sonic impression: a group of gangsa (bronze metallophones) struck with hard wooden mallets produce an intricately patterned lay of sound above the more sustained tones of the lower instruments; the reyong, a row of small tuned gongs played by four musicians, creates a different (but equally complex) figuration of a softer attack and sound color; and leading them all are a pair of drummers who play yet another kind of interlocking patterns.In kotekan there are two independent parts called polos and sangsih, each of which fills in the gaps of the other to form a complete rhythmic texture.

Kotekan is usually expressed in English as 'interlocking parts', because although it sounds as one melody it is actually composed of two interdependent musical lines that are incomplete when played alone and dependent exclusively on each other for obtaining the desired result.

... Much of the excitement of Balinese music arises from these irresistible rhythms.Nyog cag is a straightforward alternation between polos and sangsih, each playing only every other note of a scale or other melodic figuration.

Usually the lowest and highest pitches are struck simultaneously, and the interval they form varies depending upon where the notes fall in the scale and the tuning of the ensemble.

In all these forms, the artistic space is rarely left blank or only in plain outline, but rather is filled with highly ornate detail to the outer boundary limits of the piece.

This is expressed in Indonesian by the word ramai (crowded or busy), which to the Balinese is a highly desirable condition in almost any realm.Kotekan are typically composed by elaborating the pokok melody.