There are several differences between Balinese Gamelan and gamelan found through out Indonesia. The Balinese gamelan is based of a 8 beat cycle in which starts on the eighth beat. The “female gong” plays on the 8th beat and the same musician plays the “male gong” on the the 4th beat. The kettle gong musicians in Balinese gamelan play only 1 or 2 kettle gongs where in traditional Indonesian gamelan kettle gong players play upwards of 8 kettle gongs at a time. There are also cymbals in in Balinese Gamelan, there are no cymbals in other forms of gamelan. The cymbals make up an important part of Balinese gamelan and highlight the fundamental difference between the different types of gamelan. there are usually 10 pairs of cymbals in each gamelan group. half of the cymbalists play on the “on beat” and half play on the “off beat”. The two parts interlock into a very complex piece. the cymbals go from interlocking parts to playing simultaneously which happens on every fourth beat. The kettle gongs also play in this very complex interlocking technique. The metalphones in Balinese gamelan make up the melody. these metalphones, unlike those in traditional gamelan, only have 4 keys.
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