A Brief History of Gongs

The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed gongs built almost four thousand years ago. No wonder when we hear a gong we feel like we are being touched in our soul.

The earliest written mention of the gong was in China in the 6th century. In these ancient documents the Chinese claim that another culture from Central Asia introduced it to them. While we can't be certain which culture created the gong, it's safe to say the sound resonated with the Chinese and that they made the gong their own.

The Chinese used gongs for many ceremonial functions. They were struck to announce when the Emperor or other important political and religious figures arrived. Military leaders also used gongs to gather men together for battle.

The gong and its music then migrated from China to Java -- the term gong is actually Javanese in origin -- and became established in Indonesia by the 9th century.

The Javanese made their gongs in a new way that was much different from the large flat Chinese gongs; they used deep turned-down rims with a raised knob in the center. The Indonesians also developed a style of playing many of their gongs at once, in a percussion orchestra known as a gamelan. In gamelan, the gongs are usually different sizes, with each one tuned to a different specific pitch.

Gongs migrated slowly from Asia to Africa -- they didn't have the Internet and airplanes to speed things along back then -- and finally arrived in Europe in the eighteenth century.

The style of gong that Europeans first saw and heard was the big Chinese gong of indefinite pitch that you have probably seen in the back of orchestras.

Though now a regular part of the percussion section in Western orchestras, the first symphony to include one was Mirabeau, written by the French composer Francois Gossec, in 1791. Debussy became the first major composer to incorporate the sounds into his symphonies.

Andrew Borakove is a media writer and a gong aficionado. He is also the proprietor of Gongs Unlimited, the only internet store devoted solely to gongs. http://www.gongs-unlimited.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Ticketmaster to Power Live Music Ticket Sales On Billboard.com - MarketWatch

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ticketmaster-Power-Live-Music-Ticket/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B18C9279F-F4C5-4D5C-B837-2AC78F1D79B3%257Dcid=1272317802ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNFu15qOylPhktzoU6IduXyaDIx-1QTicketmaster to Power Live bMusic/b Ticket Sales On Billboard.com/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;Billboard is uniquely qualified to provide consumers with credible chart data, authoritative bmusic/b analysis and access to both popular and up-and-coming b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ticketmaster-Opens-New-Ticket-Centers/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BB3D33F8A-5EE3-4182-B212-C0C8A75B53DF%257Dcid=1272317802ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNGnveLAcPwi2yNgyaBg7UpBEWWgnATicketmaster Opens New Ticket Centers in Five Publix Supermarkets b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272317802hl=ennobrall 14 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Metacafe Invites Viewers to Get Their Groove On With New Music Channel - MarketWatch

Music Review | #39;Fugitives#39; Tracking Composers on the Run - New York Times

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.playbillarts.com/features/article/7819.htmlcid=1272345723ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNGHtS2lQaefEQw7CA_rGT_HN9jMVgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=0PElRE7mkCEJimgurl=www.playbillarts.com/images/photos/fugitives200px_1227122415.jpg width=36 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2PlaybillArts/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/arts/music/20fugi.htmlcid=1272345723ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNFEVAbW37fPozwZQdFDL2TSD5bZPgbMusic/b Review | #39;Fugitives#39; Tracking Composers on the Run/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr53 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The overarching theme was the disruption in European bmusic/b and culture caused by Hitler’s rise to power. Starting with works of late Romantic opulence, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.playbillarts.com/features/article/7819.htmlcid=1272345723ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNGHtS2lQaefEQw7CA_rGT_HN9jMVgNew York Festival Of Song#39;s Fugitives, with Kaiser and Lindsey b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPlaybillArts/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272345723hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Sources: Apple, music labels talk DRM-free songs - CNET News

Nokia Music Store Italy: More Than 4 Million Songs - MarketWatch

He Can Bring the Wine and the Music - New York Times

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/dining/19pour.html%3Fref%3Dstylecid=1272135636ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHhUcwE5N8BK40CM5m8q7PsTJD6_Qimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=BEpwDfdJ6MkJimgurl=graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/19/dining/pour.190.jpg width=53 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2New York Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/dining/19pour.html%3Fref%3Dstylecid=1272135636ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHhUcwE5N8BK40CM5m8q7PsTJD6_QHe Can Bring the Wine and the bMusic/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By ERIC ASIMOV FOR bmusic/b and for wine, David Chan says, language has its limitations. He should know. THE RIGHT NOTES David Chan, violinist and Burgundy b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Music Review: Chinese Democracy - Entertainment Weekly

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://newsroom.mtv.com/2008/11/17/what-was-the-world-like-the-last-time-guns-n-roses-released-an-album/cid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNGXla5kvmUZpFNJdL0OSCjd7meKmAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=YF0FuPL6WYMJimgurl=www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/g/gunsnroses/axl_comp/140x105.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2MTV.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20241280,00.html%3Fiid%3Dtop25-20081119-Music%2BReview%253A%2BChinese%2BDemocracycid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNEK5bVlcx9d9MKjlfcfA1f4AmPdGwbMusic/b Review: Chinese Democracy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEntertainment Weeklynbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1This is unapologetically huge bmusic/b, not fit for tiny iPod earbuds. At times it#39;s possible to hear the world-changing CD that Rose — whose banshee howl b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1599694/20081118/guns_n_roses.jhtmlcid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNH0g3jrahJQtu1Uj5FeZNtf51zdFwAxl Rose#39;s Most Amazing MTV Moments, In Bigger Than The Sound/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMTV.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/official-uk-chinese-democracy-premiere-announced-183375cid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNEeGIsw0PaFeuQ3gfpFDAeYJPQP2QOfficial UK Chinese Democracy premiere announced/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMusicRadar.com - The place for music makers/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-3fd=Rurl=http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/90673cid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHH632BSQhHSZohDsb1dk0sMzZqCA411 GN’R Roundtable: Appetite For Destruction/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobr411mania.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-4fd=Rurl=http://www2.islandpacket.com/theguide/chinesedemocracy1119cid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNFAWhFnZtru_mfyRx91fti6nOow6QnobrHilton Head Island Packet/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-5fd=Rurl=http://idolator.com/5092900/chuck-klosterman-likes-chinese-democracy-even-better-now-that-hes-heard-itcid=1272078017ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNFG-716bWfKsAXX_HOcjIXVIsqjfgnobrIdolator/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272078017hl=ennobrall 115 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

paidContent.org - Gaming Roundup: NatGeo; Music Mogul; Square Enix ... - Washington Post

Microsoft slashes prices of several Zune music players - Seattle Post Intelligencer

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/11/19/microsoft-cuts-price-of-flash-based-zunes/cid=1271983730ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHkHRs7w2ZQlqoCUuOwQRScycCE7wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=heOPpSw1730Jimgurl=www.product-reviews.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/microsoft-cuts-price-of-flash-based-zunes.jpg width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Product Reviews/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388410_msftzune19.htmlcid=1271983730ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNEJZ5pwYtC803ZdlDKuJukruZOKFQMicrosoft slashes prices of several Zune bmusic/b players/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSeattle Post Intelligencernbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By JOSEPH TARTAKOFF Microsoft slashed the prices of several of its Zune bmusic/b players Tuesday, hoping to drive holiday sales despite the weak economic b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://profy.com/2008/11/18/microsoft-hopes-price-cuts-will-help-zune-in-the-holiday-season/cid=1271983730ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHmUjKP5NtZtWbDKMUiA8o_GIYzwgMicrosoft Hopes Price Cuts Will Help Zune in the Holiday Season/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrProfy/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://blogs.eweek.com/applewatch/content/ipod/zune_price_cuts_the_economy_or_nanos.htmlcid=1271983730ei=bZEkSdSTHJqO9QSJvZC3AQusg=AFQjCNHdL2le3xUTBUGrw7azh9hkeNJMXQZune Price Cuts: The Economy or Nanos?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobreWeek/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1271983730hl=ennobrall 28 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

INgrooves and 7digital Get Together for European Distribution - MarketWatch

Music - Google News

RELATED ARTICLES

The Gong - An Instrument Everyone Can Play
What exactly is a Gong?The gong is a musical instrument in the percussion family.A gong can have either a definite or an indefinite musical pitch.

Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement of a New Generation of Musicians
From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman to the Warlock, some guitar designs are forever branded on our consciousness, and now there's a new one: the Minarik Inferno X-treme. The body shape erupts in furious fingers of flame.

Shopping For Your First Drum Set
Your first drum set purchase is very exciting! You have probably waited a long time to buy your first drumset and have thought a lot about it. Even though it is exciting, it is important to be patient and do your research before you buy a drum set.

How To Change Your Guitar Strings
Changing your guitar strings might make you feel a litte uncomfortable if you have never done it before, but it's really quite simple and should become a regular part of your guitar care routine. Before you do anything, first take time to make some personal observations such as:1.

So You Wanna Learn How To Start a Record Label?
Well, you love music so much that you have decided you want to start a record label of your own. This can be a very exciting step and a fun one.

Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano
Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some techniques for using the right hand. Usually, it's the left hand that causes the most difficulty but I had to think about it because up till then, I really did not have any "techniques" for the right hand.

Review: Coheed and Cambria - Second Stage Turbine Blade
Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed the progressive showmanship of Rush with Dashboard Confessional's emotional escapism? Me neither, but Coheed and Cambria has been described as that exact mix-up more times that I'd like to recall. While it's easy to understand the Rush comparison, with lead singer Claudio Sanchez's high-pitched vocal delivery.

Rhapsody Music Downloads Part II - A pleasant experience?
Welcome back to Part II of Rhapsody Music Downloads! I hope you took an opportunity to enjoy the first week of your two-week trial. Must have been a joy to stream and download online music by the truckloads.

New Age Piano Tricks
One of the things that makes New Age piano so enjoyable is that it's easy to get started.One of the "tricks" of the trade is to play an ostinato pattern in the left-hand while the right improvises a melody.

Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick
Lately, I haven't been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol' Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues.

Piano Playing and Performance Anxiety
I'll never forget the first time I played the piano for an audience.It was my first concert and it was fairly full up.

How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols
Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a type of notation used frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that chord symbols don't show the function of a chord the way the Roman numeral notation does.

Recording Vocals at Home
Anyone who has recorded vocals to tape knows there is a difference between a heart-felt performance, and something that does not quite cut it! There are certain steps that I take to ensure that my own performances are the best I can muster.First and formost is get enough rest the night before.

Learn to Read Music Online
If you or anyone you know wants to learn to read music, it's a lot easier to do than it used to be. The Internet gives us all access to almost unlimited information, and can deliver an incredible array of products and tools right to our desktops.

Art of the Recording Engineer: From Michael Jackson to Mutant Radio, Matt Forger Speaks Out
Interviewed by Scott G (The G-Man)G-Man: When people think of Matt Forger, they usually think of your work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Glen Ballard, and Bruce Swedien, yet when you hand out a CD with examples of your producing, engineering or mixing, it almost always has new and emerging artists, people like Mutant Radio, Laughing With Lulu, The Dharma Bomb, or Fjaere. What's your thinking behind the choice of avoiding the big names?Forger: While my association with those big names was a wonderful experience, it's also in the past.

Guitar Facts: A Glossary of Terms
It is said that the forerunner of the guitar, the lute, was created by the Greek god, Apollo. In India, it is believed that the sitar, another stringed instrument from which the guitar is descended, is sacred to the goddess Saraswati.

Play Too Loud And Well Cut The Power!
"Turn it down!"How often have you heard that command in your musical lifetime? It's a plain fact that old people just don't like loud music. They should all be taken to soundproofed old people's homes where they can live out the remainder of their lives complaining about each other, and let us get on with some fun.

Soul Band for a Party
Was the request six months ago, a sixtieth birthday party, the client said. It got me thinking.

The Death-Defying Warehouse Party Life: An Interview by William of Orange
About an entire local music industry that's rarely heard from, briefly navigated by a remote being that coalesces, rarely, around music scenes and their absurd atrocities; published by "The Stranger" weekly newspaper of Seattle, WA.Sonny Chelf is the orneriest house party producer I know who hails from Tacoma.

How to Compose Your Own Music Using 8-bar Phrases
Some people think composing is this miraculous thing that only genius's do. What a myth! It's a skill that can be learned.