Keseh Gong: Augmented Balinese Gamelan "Gong" for Interactive Music Performance

I Putu Arya Deva Suryanegara, and Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Keseh Gong situates the performer’s gestures in dialogue with Balinese gamelan tradition, emphasizing their central role in musical and community practice. The gong, often played while moving or on a wheeled frame, naturally swings even when not struck; these gestures form the conceptual basis of the Gong Machine. This performance transforms the Balinese gong into an augmented instrument, mapping hand gestures and movements of the gong to electronic sound in real time. A solo musician’s hand positions inside the gong, as well as the movement of the gong across the performance space, are captured via ultrasonic and accelerometer sensors, while an LDR sensor monitors lighting for system activation. Sensor data is processed in Max/MSP and mapped to synthesis, corpus-based manipulation, and spatialization. FluCoMa machine-learning tools estimate hand position, making gesture an integral part of sound production. Musical form emerges dynamically from the interplay between gesture, instrument, and computer, broadening the possibilities for traditional instruments in contemporary Balinese music while remaining firmly connected to community-rooted practices.

Citation

I Putu Arya Deva Suryanegara, and Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti. 2026. Keseh Gong: Augmented Balinese Gamelan "Gong" for Interactive Music Performance. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782188 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_51,
 abstract = {Keseh Gong situates the performer’s gestures in dialogue with Balinese gamelan tradition, emphasizing their central role in musical and community practice. The gong, often played while moving or on a wheeled frame, naturally swings even when not struck; these gestures form the conceptual basis of the Gong Machine. This performance transforms the Balinese gong into an augmented instrument, mapping hand gestures and movements of the gong to electronic sound in real time. A solo musician’s hand positions inside the gong, as well as the movement of the gong across the performance space, are captured via ultrasonic and accelerometer sensors, while an LDR sensor monitors lighting for system activation. Sensor data is processed in Max/MSP and mapped to synthesis, corpus-based manipulation, and spatialization. FluCoMa machine-learning tools estimate hand position, making gesture an integral part of sound production. Musical form emerges dynamically from the interplay between gesture, instrument, and computer, broadening the possibilities for traditional instruments in contemporary Balinese music while remaining firmly connected to community-rooted practices.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {51},
 author = {I Putu Arya Deva Suryanegara and Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782188},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Remote Performance},
 numpages = {5},
 pages = {212--216},
 presentation-video = {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO8HAJIfRTk&list=PL66fj0YkZ7-L7FRYsZOFwYMdb3gO2FVJA&index=1},
 title = {Keseh Gong: Augmented Balinese Gamelan "Gong" for Interactive Music Performance},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_51.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}