356 A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat Ek Instruments Abdul Rachman1, Pramot Teangtrong2, Phakamas Jirajarupat2, Indrawan Nur Cahyono1 1Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia 2Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Thailand Submitted: 2021-07-05. Revised: 2021-11-27. Accepted: 2021-12-26 Abstract Gambang Semarang is one of Indonesia’s traditional music which has an instrument made of wood, namely gambang (xylophone). Thai Pi Phat Ensemble has a Gambang-like instrument called Ranat Ek. In the presentation, each of these instruments certainly has a playing pattern that is characteristic of the music itself. This study aims to identify and describe the pattern of traditional music playing in the Gambang Semarang, especially the Gambang instrument and the traditional music of Thai Pi Phat Ensemble, especially the Ranat Ek instrument. The research meth- od used is qualitative with a musicological approach. Data collection techniques were carried out by using observation, interviews, document studies, and Focused Group Discussions. Data analysis was carried out with the stages of data reduction, data classification, and concluding. The results show that the playing pattern of the Gambang instrument in the Gambang Semarang music contains two types of playing patterns, namely sekaran Nglagu and cengkok ajeg. While the playing pattern of the Ranat Ek instrument in the Pi Phat Ensemble consists of kan ti kro, kan ti kep, kan ti siao mue, kan ti sado, and kan ti sabat. The two instruments have similarities and differences in playing patterns which are most likely due to differences in functions and roles in group play. Keywords: Comparison, Playing Pattern, Instrument, Gambang, Ranat Ek How to Cite: Rachman, A., Teangtrong, P., Jirajarupat, P., & Cahyono, I. N. (2021). A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat Ek Instruments. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 21(2), 356-368 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021), 356-368 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v21i2.31037 materials to be useful in musical contexts (Spiller, 2004). Thailand and Indonesia, especially Java, have many basic musical characteris- tics. The background to this large number of similarities is that the two regions be- long to the “gong-chime culture” region of Southeast Asia, which has a characteristic musical ensemble featuring gong-bells- sets of small gongs with knobs, Xylopho- nes (arrangement of logs) instruments, and Metallophones (arrangement of metal INTRODUCTION Southeast Asia is very diverse from a historical, cultural, and political point of view. However, Southeast Asia is con- nected by a common environment, his- tory, and culture (Becker, 2018; Lockard, 1995). Like music, for example, Southeast Asian music is strongly influenced by en- vironmental and cultural resources. Sout- heast Asian environmental resources such as bamboo, wood, and metal allow these Corresponding author: E-mail: dulkemplinx@mail.unnes.ac.id p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 357 rods), wind instruments made of bamboo/ wood, stringed instruments, and rhythmic percussion instruments such as drums, kendang, and simbal. The instruments in musical ensembles in the two countries are very similar to each other (Sumrongthong & Sorrell, 2000; Kanchanapradit & Meesa- wat, 2008; T. E. Miller, 1992; Morton, Du- riyanga, 1976; Hughes, 1992). Thailand has the Pi Phat Ensemble, which is traditional music consisting of the instruments of Ranat Ek (main xylopho- ne), Ranat Ek tum (xylophone), Khong Wong lek (small bonang), Khong Wong Yai (big bonang), gongs, drums (gendang), krui Piang oa (flute), rak khang (bell), kim, and ching (Thatsanabanjong, 2020; Attakit- mongcol k., chinvetkitvanit R., 2004; Jee- ranai et al., 2017; Garzoli & Binson, 2018; Morton, David; Duriyanga, 1976). While Central Java has traditional music, namely Gambang Semarang which consists of the instruments of Gambang, Bonang, Gong, Kendang, flute, Sukong, konghayan, kec- rek (Septemuryantoro, 2020; Utama & Puguh, 2013; Puguh, 2000; Raharjo et al., 2021; Raharjo & Arsih, 2019; Utama & Pu- guh, 2013; Sadtiti, 2016). Although the traditional music of Pi Phat Ensemble and Gambang Semarang have similarities with each other when viewed from the shape of the instrument, the raw materials of the instrument, but not necessarily the playing patterns of these instruments are similar. They may have similar playing patterns or even very different playing patterns. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study on the com- parison of the playing patterns of traditio- nal Thai music with Indonesia, especially Central Java. Sumrongthong and Sorrell’s (2000) research entitled “Melodic Paradoxes in the Music of the Thai pi-phat and Javanese gamelan” in which the study discusses the melodic and improvisational systems used in each country. Research by Hughes (1992) entitled “Thai music in Java, Java- nese music in Thailand: Two case studies” discusses the adaptation of the scale sys- tem and melodic improvisation of each traditional music. Based on previous studies, research on the comparison of playing patterns bet- ween Thai and Indonesian traditional mu- sic has never been carried out. Therefore it is necessary to conduct research to know the comparison of each playing pattern. The focus that will be studied is the music of Gambang Semarang from Central Java, Indonesia, especially the Gambang musi- cal instrument, during the Thai traditional music, namely the Pi Phat Ensemble, especi- ally the Ranat Ek musical instrument. METHOD The study used qualitative with a musicological approach. The research was conducted in two countries, namely Indo- nesia and Thailand. Data collection used three techniques, namely observation, in- terviews, document studies, and Focused Group Discussion (FGD). The observation method was done by observing, studying, and understanding the phenomenon done by digging up information directly about the playing pattern of the Gambang instru- ment on Gambang Semarang music and the Ranat Ek instrument on the Pi Phat Ensemble and then describing it. The in- terview was conducted by interviewing several respondents, namely several Gam- bang instrument players in the city of Se- marang and Ranat Ek players in Bangkok, Thailand. Document studies were carried out by collecting information in the form of written documents, pictures, videos. Data analysis was carried out by pro- cessing and preparing data for analysis by copying interviews about the playing pat- terns of Gambang and Ranat Ek, as well as scanning materials, documents, making field notes, and sorting the data based on the source. Then, the data was read, and data reduction was done by selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, and transforming data from field notes or tran- scripts. The data validity technique used triangulation of sources, methods, and the- ories. The collected data is then analyzed in three steps: reduction, presentation, and Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021): 356-368358 conclusion. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In general, the instruments in Gam- bang Semarang music are almost the same as Javanese Karawitan, but not as comple- te as Javanese Karawitan. Gambang Sema- rang music uses only a few instruments: xylophone, bonang, gong and kempul, kendang (drums), flute, kecrek, konghayan, and tehyan (fiddle), although, in its deve- lopment, many Gambang Semarang musi- cal groups began to add saron and demung instruments in their performances. The scales in Gambang Semarang music use western pentatonic scales, na- mely: 1 (do), 2 (re), 3 (mi), 5 (sol), and 6 (la), without using 4 (fa), and 7 (si) with the basic tone D = do (Rachman, Teangt- rong, Utomo, Sinaga, & Cahyono, 2021; Rachman, Teangtrong, Utomo, Sinaga, & Nurcahyono, 2021). The Playing Pattern of the Gambang Mu- sical Instrument on the Gambang Sema- rang music The Gambang instrument in the Gambang Semarang music is played in a sitting position cross-legged facing the instrument, where both hands of the player hold two mallets (percussion). The percussion used is made of wood; at the end of the percussion, there is a circle of wood wrapped in a kind of cloth so that the sound produced becomes soft. The way to hold the Gambang percussion is that the fingers of the right and left hands circle/ hold the percussion except for the index finger which is attached straight above the percussion. The playing technique is a way or effort to play a musical instrument with a certain tone or rhythm (Banoe, 2003), whi- le the pattern is a model, system, form, or structure. A rhythm pattern is a rhythm pattern that is repeated regularly throug- hout the song to form a rhythm unit with a specific name. A rhythm pattern that is repeated regularly from various instru- ments and played throughout the song. This rhythm pattern has its characteristics and has a specific name (Banoe, 2003; H. M. Miller, 1958; Rachman & Utomo, 2019; Suhaya et al., 2020). So, it can be concluded that the pattern of music playing is a form, structure of music playing by using certain tones and or rhythms that are carried out repeatedly and regularly throughout the song that forms a rhythm unit with a cer- tain name. The playing pattern of Gambang Se- marang musical instruments does not yet have certain standards that characterize Semarangan music. Most of the playing patterns of Gambang Semarang musical instruments were adopted from several techniques/patterns of Javanese Karawi- tan music playing, and Sundanese which the Semarang Gambang music players la- ter modified. This causes differences in the playing pattern for each player, but it will be the style of each player itself. Based on the data obtained from several sources, the Gambang playing pattern on Gambang Semarang music has two playing patterns. The first is the Basic Pattern of Sekaran Ta- buhan Gambang Gembyang Nglagu, and the second is the Basic Pattern of Tabuhan Gam- bang Garap Cengkok Ajeg. This sub-chapter will discuss the two playing patterns of the Gambang musical instrument in Semarang Gambang music. The Basic Pattern of Sekaran Tabuhan Gambang Gembyang Nglagu/Octave Sekaran is a melodic playing pattern with fixed rhythmic values or combina- tions that tend to follow the song melody or the development of a song melody (Su- panggah, 2009; Widodo & Suharto, 2017). Nglagu is a form of wasp pattern that de- velops from the wasp pattern mipil, whe- re the development is carried out at each seleh, both in the middle of the gatra and the end of the gatra by using tones one bar lower than the tone seleh to serve as a series of songs. Gembyang is a wasp pattern by sounding the top and bottom notes of the same notation simultaneously, which in western music terms, this pattern is called an octave—for example, sounding 1 (do) Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 359 low and 1 (do) high at the same time. Seleh in karawitan is a sense of stopping at a song sentence, either pausing or stopping (Kur- niawati, 2019; Sugimin, 2018; Supanggah, 2009; Widodo & Suharto, 2017). If trans- lated into western music, seleh shows the chord/harmony region of the song being played, meaning that if the wasp pattern seleh plays ‘do’, so the song melody being sung is in the do chord region or I major chord level. It can be concluded that the basic pattern of the Sekaran tabuhan Gam- bang Gembyang Nglagu/Octave is a melodic wasp pattern with a fixed rhythmic value or a combination that tends to follow the song melody or development where the development is carried out at each seleh by sounding the top and bottom notes of the same note at the same time. The basic pattern of Sekaran Tabuhan Gambang Gembyang Nglagu/Oktaf Octave consists of five types named seleh, namely, seleh do, seleh re, seleh mi, seleh sol, and seleh la where each pattern plays consistently the same two notes but differs by one octa- ve (nggembyang) in terms of West is called an octave with an eighth notes (quavers). Low notes are hit or played by the left hand while high notes are hit/played by the right hand. The basic pattern of Sekaran Tabuhan Gambang Gembyang Nglagu/Oktaf Seleh 1 (do) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the I Major chord region. Seleh 2 (re) shows that this pattern is play- ing a wasp pattern in the level II chord regi- on which usually tends to be Minor. Seleh 3 (mi) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the third level chord regi- on which usually tends to be Minor. Seleh 5 (sol) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the V major chord regi- on. At the same time, seleh 6 (la) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the VI minor chord region. Each basic pattern of sekaran tabu- han Gambang gembyang nglagu completely usually requires two bars in each pattern, which is two times four beats because Gambang Semarang music songs most- ly have 4/4-time bars, but this depends on the rhythm of the chord being played. If the chord being played is only one bar long, then only half of the Gambang pat- tern is played (one bar); if the chord being played has two bars long, then the playing pattern can be full, which is two bars. The next important note is that each basic pattern of sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu is not just playing one note repeatedly, but in one pattern playing several series of adjacent notes which are ascending and then descending to return to the tone seleh. For example, a series of to- nes that can be used in the percussion pat- tern seleh 1 (do) usually the series of tones used are 1 (do), 2 (re), 3 (mi), 5 (sol), and 6 (la). Each set of notes is played in eighth notes. The basic pattern of sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu Seleh 1 (do), Se- leh 2 (re), Seleh 3 (mi), Seleh 5 (Sol), and Se- leh 6 (La) can be seen in Figure 1 Figure 1. The basic pattern of Sekaran Tabuhan Gambang Gembyang Nglagu seleh 1, seleh 2, seleh 3, seleh 5, and seleh 6 Based on the partitur above, the ba- sic pattern of sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu seleh 1 (do) on the first bar playing notation 1 (do) on the first two beats, then continued with notation 2 (re) and 3 (mi) on the third beat, return to the notation 2 (re) and 3 (mi) again on the fourth beat, each of which uses the note va- lue of 1/8. The second bar plays notation sol 5 (sol) on the first beat followed by no- tation 3 (mi) and 5 (sol) on the second beat, Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021): 356-368360 while on the third beat plays notation 6 (la) and 5 (sol) and continues with notation 3 (mi) and 2 (re) on the fourth beat, each also playing eighth notes. Furthermore, seleh 2, seleh 3, seleh 5, and seleh 6 adjust. But this pattern depends on the player’s interpre- tation because different players will also have different sets of tones that will be used. The Basic Pattern of Tabuhan Gambang Garap Cengkok Ajeg Garap is cultivating essential ele- ments of the musical and cultural gending following the rules that apply character and presentation functions to form a beau- tiful musical sound composition. Cengkok is one of the most frequently used terms to refer to the wasp pattern in karawitan. Cengkok is a configuration of tones and/ or rhythms that have been determined in length, usually one gatra, or multiples, or half, or throughout one sentence of a short song (Haris et al., 2017; Supanggah, 2009; Widodo & Suharto, 2017). It can be conclu- ded that the basic pattern of tabuhan Gam- bang garap cengkok ajeg is a wasp pattern that processes musical elements such as tone configurations and or rhythms with a certain length that is fixed or repeated so that a beautiful composition is formed. In the basic pattern of sekaran tabu- han Gambang gembyang nglagu, the right and left hands play the same rhythmic and tone, but the different octave. Meanwhi- le, in the basic pattern of tabuhan Gambang garap cengkok ajeg, the right and left hands play the different rhythmic and tone. This pattern is only formed in one bar. The right-hand plays a rhythmic half stroke of a constant eighth notes with details on the first and third beats starting with an eighth rest mark followed by eighth notes, on the second and fourth beats playing two eighth notes. While the left hand of the first beat plays the half note then followed by the sixteenth note on the next beat. The basic pattern of garap cengkok ajeg is like playing the kothekan techni- que, where the right and left hands play a rhythmic pattern that complements each other. Kothekan is alternately beating technique complementarities between the two similar ricikan (instruments) or more at a distance wasp of half beat (Supanggah, 2009). The underlined thing in the kothekan technique is that this technique is played by two or more instruments, which means that it is also possible to play two or more players, but in the context of pattern of ta- buhan cengkok garap ajeg on the Gambang instrument, it is played by one person and only one ricikan. This technique has a very high level of difficulty, it requires agili- ty and coordination between the player’s right and left hands. Therefore, the writing into musical notation becomes two levels of the stave, such as grand stave. However, both two levels of the stave use the G key, while grand stave (the writing of the par- titur for piano) uses the G key for the top stave and the F key for the bottom stave. In the writing of the pattern of tabuhan ceng- kok garap ajeg, the top stave is a rhythmic/ wasp pattern played by the right hand, while the bottom stave is played by the left hand. The basic pattern of tabuhan Gambang garap cengkok ajeg also consists of five types based on the seleh, namely seleh do, seleh re, seleh mi, seleh sol, and seleh la. Seleh 1 (do) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the I Major chord regi- on. Seleh 2 (re) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the level II minor chord region. Seleh 3 (mi) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the III minor chord region. Seleh 5 (sol) indicates that this pattern is playing a wasp pattern in the V major chord region. Seleh 6 (la) in- dicates that this pattern is playing a beat pattern in the VI minor chord region. The basic pattern of tabuhan Gambang garap cengkok ajeg completely requires only one bar in each pattern. The wasp pattern is that the right hand consistently plays two notes, namely the quint note (5), and the sect note (6) each with a value of eighth notes. The first beat begins with an eighth rest followed by eighth quint note (5), the second beat begins with a sect (6) eighth note followed by quint (5) eighth note, the Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 361 same as the first beat, the third beat starts with an eighth rest, followed by quint (5) eighth note, then the fourth beat plays sect (6) eighth note and is followed by quint (5) eighth note. The wasp pattern played by the left hand is to play rhythmic consisting of two notations, namely the prim (1) and the quint (5), where the prim note (1) is the tone seleh (tonika), while the quint (5) is the partner. The prim note (1) is played with a half note on the first beat, then on the se- cond beat two quints (5) sixteenth notes are played, followed by a rest and quint (5) with a value of 1/6 and at the fourth beat plays the quint (5) note with a value of 1/6 followed by a 1/16 rest and 1/8 quint (5) note. The basic pattern of tabuhan Gambang garap cengkok ajeg seleh 1 (do), Seleh 2 (re), Seleh 3 (mi), Seleh 5 (Sol), and Seleh 6 (La) can be seen in Figure 2. Figure 2. The Basic Pattern of Tabuhan Gambang Garap Cengkok Ajeg seleh 1, seleh 2, seleh 3, seleh 5, and seleh 6 The Playing Pattern of Ranat Ek in Thai Pi Phat Ensembles Before learning the playing patterns of Ranat Ek properly, a beginner should practice playing slowly up and down Phu- en in simultaneous octaves to perfect right- and left-hand synchronization. Meanwhi- le, at the earliest stage, a player learns to produce a balanced sound, the same as between his right and left hands, which he completely controls with his arm, not the wrist. When the simultaneous playing of octaves can be done, players then be- gin light exercises or simple Thang (Fultz, 1976; Ketukaenchan, 1989; Kosol et al., 2019; T. E. Miller, 1992; Yannavut, 2016). Ranat Ek has two types of playing patterns or techniques related to composi- tion, namely Kan Ti Kep and Kan Ti Kro. However, many compositions in the Thai repertoire for Ranat Ek are played in the Kep style, which is the oldest playing pat- tern. Therefore, in this sub-chapter, we will discuss the two playing patterns. Kan Ti Kro Kan Ti Kro is a playing pattern by combining the right hand and the left hand to hit alternately and repeated very quickly with the same weight on both hands (Ketu- kaenchan, 1989; Phukhaothong, 1989). The notes that are hit in the Kan Ti Kro play- ing pattern are two different tones (pairs), for example, tone 1 (do) paired with tone 2 (re), tone 1 (do) paired with tone 3 (mi), tone 1 (do) paired with tone 4 (fa), tone 1 (do) paired with tone 5 (sol), tone 1 (do) paired with tone 6 (la), tone 1 (do) paired with tone 7 (si), tone 1 (do ) paired with a high tone 1 (do), and so on. Kan Ti Kro starts with the left hand hitting a low note and then continues with the right hand re- peatedly hitting a high note with the same speed and intensity. This playing pattern aims to produce a tone with a long sound following the wishes of the player and the needs of the song melody. This pattern is made considering the duration of the sound produced by Ranat Ek instrument that is very short. The playing pattern of Kan Ti Kro can be seen in Figure 3. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021): 356-368362 Figure 3. The playing pattern of Kan Ti Kro Based on the score above, we can see that Ranat Ek plays a series of rising melo- dies with a length of two bars starting from note 3 (mi) and ending with tone 6 (la) by applying Kan Ti Kro. In the first bar, the first and second beats play Kan Ti Kro in low tone 3 (mi) for the left hand, high tone 3 (mi) for the right hand, by hitting the left hand first, followed by the right hand, very quickly, and so on. Kan Ti Kep Kan Ti Kep is a playing pattern in Ranat Ek which translates or changes the main melody of the gong ageng into a sym- metrical group of four tones (semi-quavers) on each beat of the crossbar (in 2/4 of time signature). The rhythm is constant, but the pitch may be different. This semi-quaver figure played with both hands on the Ra- nat Ek in simultaneous octaves is also used by other pitched percussion instruments. The interesting thing about Kep is that it is a playing pattern that allows the player a lot of freedom, i.e., he can design his own sequence of notes, in semi-quaver form, according to the basic melody. Thang Ranat Ek in the Kep style can appear in compositions with very simple or highly decorative forms, and since Kep allows both simple and complex Thangs, no spe- cial composition is required for use by Ra- nat Ek novice players who are learning the simple Thang, introduced by their teacher. Other instruments also share this charac- teristic freedom, or it can be said that this playing pattern reflects Thai society, which is often described as ‘loose knitting’ (Ketu- kaenchan, 1989; Phukhaothong, 1989). A good Ranat Ek player instinctive- ly knows how to produce the Kan Ti Kep technique but finds it difficult to explain how he does it. Furthermore, since Thai music is an oral tradition, there is very little material or evidence to study. Thus, to understand the playing technique, one must learn it through performance. Kan Ti Kep has several models, star- ting with the word Klon, which refers to the sequence or pattern used in Thai poet- ry. Klon Klon is a playing pattern that is a model of Kan Ti Kep by performing va- rious types of melodies in relationship and contact with each other by translating from the melody of the gong, which is the song’s main melody. Verse/verse/stan- za between the first and last paragraphs must be the same poem. One paragraph is a measure of the length of the 4 Thai notes. An example of a paragraph can be seen in Table 1. Table 1. Paragraph size in the Thai notation writing system Length Paragraph - - - ซ Paragraph 1 - ล ล ล Paragraph 2 ซ - ด Paragraph 3 - ล ล ล Paragraph 4 ซ ด ร ม Paragraph 5 ซ - ด Paragraph 6 ร ม ร ด Paragraph 7 ท - ล Paragraph 8 Based on the table above, we can see that the length in one paragraph con- sists of four beats/tones with a value of ¼ (quarter notes). Paragraph one consists of four beats, starting with a silent sign on the first, second, and third beats with a value of ¼ (quarter notes), then followed by the tone ซ on the fourth beat. The second para- graph begins with a quarter rest, then the second and fourth beats are filled with the tone ล, etc. The Klon pattern can be seen in the partitur Figure 4. Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 363 Figure 4. The Playing Pattern of Klon The Klon in the partitur above plays a nine-bar melody series with a constant note value of 1/8 (eighth notes), where the left hand and right hand play the same note but are struck at an octave interval apart at the same time. The series of me- lodies start from tone 6 (la) then move up and down, sometimes step up, step down, jump up, and jump down, which returns to the original note, namely tone 6 (la). Kan Ti Siao Mue Kan Ti Siao Mue is an octave paired playing pattern commonly called Khu 8 with a series of melodies moving ascen- ding along an octave, for example, starting from 1 (do) to 1 (do) high but done very quickly. The way to do Kan Ti Siao Mue is that the left hand is on standby on a low tone 1 (do), the right-hand hits a low tone 1 (do) then the mallet is pulled (dragged) quickly to the right (ascending) so note 1 (do) is high, when the right-hand mallet reaches the high tone 1 (do) simultaneous- ly the left hand which is already stand by on the low tone 1 (do) hits the low tone 1 (do), so that the low tone 1 (do) and the high tone 1 (do) will be heard simulta- neously (octave). This can also be done to the tone 2 (re), 3 (mi), 4 (fa), 5 (sol), 6 (la), 7 (si) in the same way. This method of Ranat Ek with a falling ball with the same sound at the end of this note is usually called Klon Ranat Ek. The playing pattern of Kan Ti Siao Mue can be seen in Figure 5. Figure 5. The Playing Pattern of Kan Ti Siao Mue Based on the partitur above, it can be described that in the first bar, Kan Ti Siao Mue is played in tone 3 (mi). The way to play it is to hit the left hand by flicking (dragging) to the right very quickly as many as eight tones starting from a low tone 3 (mi) to a high tone 3 (mi) then follo- wed by the right hand hitting the high tone 3 (mi) with a note value of 1/4. In the se- cond bar, Kan Ti Siao Mue is played in tone 4 (fa) by hitting your left hand by flicking (dragging) to the right very quickly as many as eight notes starting from low tone 4 (fa) to high tone 4 (fa) then continued by the right hand hitting the high tone 4 (fa) with a note value of ¼ (quarter note). Kan Ti Sado Kan Ti Sado is a playing pattern by hitting three times in pairs of khu 8 (same sound) or octaves at the same speed in the western music system. It is based on hit- ting the spot and subtly increasing the fre- quency. In real playing, this pattern is also very often used by players. The playing pattern of Kan Ti Sado can be seen in Figure 6: Figure 6. The playing pattern of Kan Ti Sado The Kan Ti Sado above consistently plays a certain note that is hit three times quickly by the left and right hands simul- taneously, the left-hand plays the low note (indicated by the notation that has a down- ward stem on the partitur), the right-hand plays the same note but one octave higher (indicated by the notation that has an up- ward stem on the partitur) with a note va- lue of 1/16 (Sixteenth note) then followed by a 1/16 rest sign as well. The partitur above plays Kan Ti Sado along four bars with a note value of 1/16 constantly star- ting from tone 3 (mi) to tone 3 (mi) of the next two octaves. In the first bar, the first beat plays tone 3 (mi), the second beat tone 4, the third beat tone 5 (sol), the fourth beat 6 (la), and so on and are done sequentially Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021): 356-368364 until it reaches the tone 3 (mi) of the next two octaves on the fourth beat fourth bar. Kan Ti Sabat Kan Ti Sabat is a playing pattern in pairs with an eight (octave) interval of a se- ries of three notes of equal distance quick- ly. Kan Ti Sabat is played by waving a series of three adjacent notes in quick suc- cession played by the right and left hands simultaneously. The left-hand plays a low note, while the right-hand plays the same note but an octave higher. Kan Ti Sabat has two types of playing patterns; the first is Ascending Kan Ti Sabat, the second is Des- cending Kan Ti Sabat. Ascending Kan Ti Sabat is a playing pattern performing a series of three tones in sequence with octave intervals (left-hand low tone, right-hand high tone) simulta- neously starting from high to low tones, for example starting from tone 3 (mi) – 2 (re) – 1 (do) with a quick flick of the hand, then this pattern moves up to the highest tone. While Descending Kan Ti Sabat is a playing pattern performing a series of three tones in sequence with octave inter- vals (left-hand low tone, right-hand high tone) simultaneously starting from low to high tones for example starting from tone 1 (do) - 2 (re) - 3 (mi) with a quick flick of the hand, then this pattern moves down to the lowest tone. The playing pattern of Ascending and Descending Kan Ti Sabat can be seen in Figure 7. Figure 7. The playing pattern of Ascending Kan Ti Sabat Figure 8. The playing pattern of Descending Kan Ti Sabat Ascending Kan Ti Sabat plays a se- ries of three notes with a descending mo- vement quickly performed by the left and right hands simultaneously, the left-hand plays a low tone (indicated by the notation that has a downward stem on the partitur), the right-hand plays the same tone but one octave higher (indicated by the notation that has an upward stem on the partitur). The partitur plays a two-measure Kan Ti Sabat at constant sixteenth notes. In the first bar, the first beat plays a series of no- tes, namely 5 – 4 – 3, and then the second beat goes up to the next note, which is 6 – 5 – 4, the third beat 7 – 6 – 5, the fourth beat 1 – 7 – 6, and so on. Descending Kan Ti Sabat plays a se- ries of three notes with a rising movement performed by the left and right hands si- multaneously, the left-hand plays a low tone (indicated by the notation that has a downward stem on the partitur), the right- hand plays the same tone but one octave higher (indicated by the notation that has an upward stem on the partitur). The score plays a two-measure Kan Ti Sabat at cons- tant sixteenth notes. In the first bar, the first beat plays a series of notes, namely 1 – 2 – 3, and then the second beat goes down to the next note, namely 7 – 1 – 2, the third beat 6 – 7 – 1, the fourth beat 5 – 6 – 7, and so on. Discussion Mrázek (2008) and Sumrongthong and Sorrell (2000) argue that there are se- veral similarities between Ranat Ek and Gambang’s playing patterns, namely, first, both move with a fast and regular tone, second, move mostly with conjun- ct motion, third, the melody is played in parallel octave. In line with Mrazek and Sumrongtong’s statement, based on the presentation of the data above, the Gam- bang Instrument on Gambang Semarang music and the Ranat Ek instrument on the Pi Phat Ensemble music have playing pat- terns that are almost similar to each other, namely the basic pattern of Sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu on the Gambang instrument with several playing patterns of the Ranat Ek instrument. The first similarity is moving with a fast and regular tone, it can be shown that Gambang and Ranat Ek have a playing Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 365 pattern that tends to be fast, namely a me- lodic movement pattern with a constant/ fixed/regular one-eighth notation that fills the entire bar. Melodic playing pattern with eighth-note values tends to have fast characteristics when compared to melodic patterns with quarter notes. This can be seen between the basic pattern of Sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu and Kan Ti Klon. Table 2. The similarity of the eighth pattern Gambang Ranat Ek The second similarity is moving mostly by conjunct motion. According to Leon (1979), Perricone (2002), Schmeling (2004), there are two types of melodic mo- tion, namely conjunct motion and disjunct motion. Conjunct motion is a melody that moves gradually (stepping) from one note to the next with a second interval, while melodic disjunct motion jumps from one note to the next with an interval greater than the second interval. The movement of conjuncts can be seen in the basic octave song pattern on the Gambang instrument and the Kanti Siau Mue, Kan Ti Sado, and Kan Ti Sabat patterns on the Ranat Ek instrument. The regularity of the melody with conjuncts can be demonstrated by the movement of the melodies of the two instruments regularly ascending and then moving down again to the initial tone (des- cending). This regularity moves following the flow of the song’s melody. The third similarity is that the me- lody is played in parallel octaves, which can be seen in the basic pattern of Sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu and the Kan Ti Kro, Kan Ti Klon, Kan Ti Sado, and Kan Ti Sabat patterns. Both instruments constantly play melodies in parallel octa- ves, i.e., two notes played simultaneously at octave intervals; for example, a low tone 1 (do) is played at the same time as a high tone 1 (do). Becker (2018) states that basically, the rhythm between Thai music called Thaw and Javanese music called rhythm has something in common, namely a process of expansion and/or contraction that al- lows one part to assume different lengths, instrumentation, different styles, and dif- ferent levels of improvisation depending on the interpretation of each player. This is true because the Gambang playing pat- terns on Gambang Semarang music and the Ranat Ek playing patterns on the Pi Phat Ensemble is very varied depending on the feeling/mood/and or interpretation of each player. This means that the playing pattern between one player and another is likely to be different even though they do the same type of basic playing pattern. Table 3. The similarity of conjunct motion Gambang Ranat Ek Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (2) (2021): 356-368366 Furthermore, according to Mrázek (2008) and Sumrongthong and Sorrell (2000), ) there are some differences between the playing patterns of Gambang and Ranat Ek. First, the melodic movements are quite consistent continuously without being in- terrupted on the Gambang instrument, in contrast to the Ranat Ek instrument, which has several melodic movements with sud- denly different rhythms that seem to pro- vide affirmation and tension. This can be seen in the basic pattern of Sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu, the movement of the melody is very consistent and unin- terrupted, conjuncts move up and down with the rhythm of one-eighth smoothly, while the Ranat Ek instrument sometimes has sudden movements that change in rhythm from one-eighth to suddenly chan- ge to the one-sixteenth rhythm as shown in the Kan Ti Sa Mue, Kan Ti Sado, and Kan Ti Sabat patterns. Second, the Ranaat’s melodies some- times build excitement by taking a 4-beat phrase and repeating it 4 or 8 times, each time turning one note higher (or lower), thereby creating an increased sense of progress. The different types of Ranaat Kep patterns are more distinct, creating a more diverse sense of melody and emotion and changing musical flow. On the Gambang instrument, the emphasis is on smooth- ness, continuity, and avoiding anything that would stand out. Third, the Gambang playing pattern only has one style that can be changed slightly to match the atmosphere of a song being played, in contrast to the Ranat Ek which has many variations of playing pat- terns, namely various fast-playing patterns and tremolo techniques. This difference is slightly different from the results of this study because, in the case of Gambang Se- marang music, the Gambang instrument has at least two playing styles/patterns, namely the basic pattern of Sekaran tabuhan Gambang gembyang nglagu and the basic pattern of Tabuhan Gambang Garap Cengkok Ajeg, where both playing patterns are very different from each other. CONCLUSIONS Based on the research and discussion results, it can be concluded that the pattern of playing the Gambang instrument on the music of Gambang Semarang and the ra- nat ek on the Pi Phat Ansamble has seve- ral similarities. The similarities are among others: moving with a fast and regular note, moving mostly with conjunction movements, and the melody being played in parallel octaves, an expansion process that allows one part to assume different Table 4. The similarity of parallel octave techniques Gambang Ranat Ek Abdul Rachman, et al., A Comparative Study of Playing Patterns on Gambang and Ranat 367 lengths, instrumentation, different styles, and different levels of improvisation. It also depends on the interpretation of each player. However, both also have differen- ces. Namely, the melody movement is qui- te consistent continuously without being interrupted on the Gambang instrument, in contrast to the Ranat Ek instrument which tends to have several melodic mo- vements with suddenly different rhythms, the different nuances of the melody being played (joyful, tense, and calm). The differences and similarities may be influenced by the function of each instrument in the group performances. 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