New video: Working With Gongs - Part 8

Here's another in my series of Gong videos. This time I feature a composition I wrote for Gongs, Spiritual Resonance. This was actually the 1st thing I wrote for my newly expanded melodic Gong set up back in 2001 or so. It has evolved over time as I've added other Gongs to my set up, but the main structure has stayed the same. 

The song was inspired by the 3 small Wind and 2 small Chau Gongs that I found at a local music store. I was on a side of town I don't normally hang out in and drove past a store that I rarely went to because it was more of a guitar store. But something compelled me to stop there. So I went in and made my way upstairs to their small percussion department and was surprised by finding a a selection of Gongs. I started playing with them, rearranging them into a pitched based order, then bought the 5 best small ones that made a nice melodic set.I used that set for about 4 years until one of the Chau Gongs lost its pitch, which made the compositions I had written not work anymore. Fortunately, I was out east and stopped at Steve Weiss music in Philly—they are one of the biggest Asian Gong importers—and they were nice enough to accommodate me. I had brought the bad Gong with me in hopes of finding a replacement. The folks at Weiss brought out a whole box of small Chau Gongs for me to try. I went through all of them and found an exact match for my bad Gong! I also found 3 more pitches to add to my set up. My thanks to all the Steve Weiss guys!

If you are looking for great hand picked Asian Gongs, please check out Steve Weiss Music, and tell them the Gongman sent you…


~ MB

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tam Tam vs Gong

Image
I can't tell you how many times this argument of "A tam tam is not a Gong" comes up. It came my way no less than 3 different times this week. Actually, 'tam tam' (also tam-tam) was 1st used in symphonic music back in the 1800s to differentiate a flat faced Gong from a Gong with a raised center 'boss.' (There is no definitive answer as to where the term tam tam originated - some say it's Chinese, some say it's Hindi, still others say it's something else…) To add to the confusion, 'tam-tam' is a term often used for either an   African  djembe or talking drum. When a score calls for a 'tam tam' (like Messiaen’s 'Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum' or various works of Richard Wagner), then a flat faced Gong, like a Chinese Chau, is used. Flat Faced Chinese Chau Gong/Tam Tam When a score calls for a 'Gong' (like Puccini’s 'Madame Butterfly', or 'Turandot'), then a bossed Gon
Read more

What to Look for When Buying a Gong

Image
Today's blog is a revised & updated blog I posted 3 years ago on my old website. I'm always having people ask me about buying a Gong. Well, here's some tips: •••••••• So you’ve decided to get a Gong. The first thing to ask is, what will I use a Gong for? What type of music do you play? Do you want to use it in a rock band, a jazz band, solo? Are you looking for a meditation device? These are important questions and will help determine what type and size of Gong to get.  One important thing to look at is how big a Gong do you want? Gongs are heavy. Gongs are not easy to transport. If this Gong will stay in your house/studio, then that makes it easy to have a larger size. But if you plan to travel in a band with it,  you need to look at the impact a different size Gong will have on transporting it.  A lot of drummers want a Gong because they look cool and sound cool. They also want that type of sound in their percussive arsenal.  A good place to star
Read more

Music Notation for Gongs

Image
Recently, I was asked a question about how Gongs are notated in a musical score. Here are various examples of different ways they have been notated, from traditional classical, to modern musical forms. The first thing is to differentiate the 2 main types of Gongs: the flat faced, usually termed Tam Tam in a classical score, and the Bossed Gong, with a raised center boss (AKA cup, nipple). A good example of a traditional symphonic Tam Tam part would be from Gustav Holst’s, The Planets . This example is from Mars, the Bringer of War : We can see the Gong/Tam Tam notated traditionally on a single staff line.  The next example is from Puccini’s opera, Turandot . This is the Tam Tam part, notated on the bottom line. Example #3 is also from Turandot. The score also calls for Tuned Bossed Gongs. Unfortunately I was unable to find a score example of them. John Cage used various Gongs in his percussion music. This is an example of how he notated the
Read more