Gamelan notation ladder-like vertical staff allowed notation of the balungan by dots and also included important drum strokes. "Kepatihan" is widely used in ethnomusicological studies of the gamelan, sometimes accompanied by transcriptions into Western staff notation with approximate mapping of slendro and pelog tuning systems of gamelan onto the western staff, with and without various symbols for microtones. The relative merits of "kepatihan" and staff notation are sometimes debated, but staff notation is essentially incompatible with the 'end-weighted' nature of melodic structures in Indonesian music. In this respect, "kepatihan" is more suitable, although the usage of overscores (taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé system)
Gamelan Sekaten are "Kyai Guntur Madu" and "Kyai Guntur Sari". According to Benjamin Brinner, the "gamelan sekaten", exists in halves: divided between the two rival courts in Surakarta and Yogyakorta, each court had a matching second half made. The pitches of the "Sekaten" ensemble is in "pelog", but lower than standard ensembles today. According to Benjamin Brinner it is the lowest pitched, largest, and loudest ensemble in Java. In recent times the gamelan at ISI Surakarta commissioned a special "Sekaten" set that would be compatible with their other gamelan, to be used in new experimental compositions. Historically, the "Sekaten" ensemble is notable