Formal Aspects of Performance Practice in Central Javanese Gamelan Music

This article examines the flexible structures of Central Javanese gendhing, where fixed elements such as the balungan and gong cycles serve as frameworks for a wide range of realizations. Through comparison of notated versions and live renditions, it highlights how performers negotiate length, density, and transitions using shared conventions of garap. The discussion emphasizes how repetition, insertion, and tempo variation allow a single piece to generate multiple large-scale forms while maintaining its identity within tradition.