GONGS
Home
ASMAT FUE
BERIMBAU
BONPO SHANG
BULLROARER
ERNST CHLADNI
CONCH SHELL
DIDGERIDOO
DRUMS
EAGLE BONE WHISTLE
FEMUR TRUMPET
GONGS
HERMES
ROBERT HOOKE
HUMAN VOICE
HANS JENNY
MBIRA
PYTHAGORAS
RATTLES
SHOFAR
SINGING BELLS
SINGING BOWLS
SPOUTING BOWLS
TINGSHAS
ALFRED TOMATIS
WHISTLING VESSELS
ITEMS FOR SALE
INFORMATION
Sacred Sound Tools

gongs

digital image by Two Horses Running

Gongs are percussion instruments of either definite or indefinite pitch, in the form of a metal plate usually made of brass or bronze, and are of two types; hanging (vertical), or resting (horizontal). They are either flat with a clear sound, convex with a supple wall, or convex with a nipple or knob with a strong wall and definite pitch. They may be described as being a wind, chau, tam-tam, nipple, cup, bowl, plate, rin, orchestral, symphonic, whirling, ascending, or descending type of gong. The major gong centers of the world are China, Burma, Java, Indonesia, and Turkey. Communities of gongmakers exist in Sumatra, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Tibet, and India. Gongmaking was known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Mongols, and Uighers. The gong is mentioned in writings during the 6th century in the time of the Emperor Hsuan Wu, originating in the country of His Yu in the western area in what was the Jang Kingdom between Tibet and Burma. Evidence suggests that gongmaking was known as early as 3000BC and ancient alchemy sources put the gong as far out as 16000BC.

Today the alloy formula of a gong is called B-20 which means 80% copper and 20% tin. Gongmakers use an alloy recipe, which may contain 70-80% copper and 20-30% tin, with the addition of silver, lead, nickel, iron, zinc, or meteorite depending upon the tradition of the gongmaking. The Zildjian Company of Turkey uses a Bronze Age formula that Avedis the alchemist from Constantinople brought to Istanbul in 1623. Piaste the cymbal maker from Zurich, Switzerland keeps a Bronze Age formula for gongs, which they still use today.

Gongs are considered to be a good luck charm, and touching a gong is believed to bring a person happiness, good health, and strength. In India it is believed that the sound of a gong created the worlds, and was the primal sound of OM. The gong is a powerful and transformational instrument of sound, which has been used for ritual, ceremony, prayer, and meditation since the Bronze Age. Its sound is relaxing and calming, centering and energizing, transforming and healing. The gong resonates all the cells of the body simultaneously and is useful in resolving emotional and physical dissonance.

Gongs made in Switzerland by Paiste

Gongs from Steve Weiss Music

Gongs from Meinl

Gongs from Sabian

Gongs from Zildjian

Gongs made in Turkey by Bosphorus

Gongs made in China by Hubei

Gongs made in China by Wuhan

Gongs made in Italy by UFIP

Glass Gongs by Elemental Design

copyright 2007 by 9ways