GENETIK: An analytical study of the contemporary gamelan music of Dewa Ketut Alit

Abstract

This thesis seeks to reveal the innovative compositional methods in Balinese composer Dewa Ketut Alit’s 2012 work for Gamelan Salukat ‘Genetik’ through transcription and analysis. In this experimental work inspired by concepts of genetics, Alit strips gamelan music down to its core elements (its genes) and through many innovative compositional processes creates unexpected new structures, melodies, rhythms, sonorities, and textural combinations. Many of these new sounds are only possible with his new instruments, which, through an expansion of the hybrid instruments developed in the 1980s, afford Alit greater opportunity for pitch exploration. Analysis accompanied by transcription excerpts will reveal the high degree of innovation in Alit’s music, exemplifying some of the ways in which contemporary Balinese gamelan composers are breaking away from the institutionalised musical conventions of the 20th century. While contributing to the ongoing documentation of contemporary styles in 21st century Bali, this paper deviates from a more conventional ethnographic methodology, shifting the focus to analysis, which is undergoing a renaissance in ethnomusicology.