The Gong-An Ethnic Instrument!
What exactly is a gong?
The origin of a gong has been found to be dated way back in the 15th century. As you know a gong is one of the ethnic instruments like a drum or a xylophone, which produces sound by striking, shaking or scraping. It has been found that gongs produce a definite type of sound or say a specific tone and are used to play with other specific tone gongs in a setup of traditional orchestra. The gong can either produce a definite or an indefinite musical pitch.
Are there different varieties of gongs?
Yes, there are different varieties of gongs that come in different sizes as well as shapes. As there are different spoken languages so are there different varieties of gongs as these, gongs percussion instruments were evolved in different location and in different cultures. Some gongs are flat, but then they are dome shaped and these types of gongs are called as nipple. The outside rim of this nipple gong is usually turned down and does not have a sharp edge like a cymbal.
Chinese gongs: There are two varieties of Chinese gongs, which have their own styles: One is the suspended shaped gong and the other is a bowl shaped gong.
Suspended gongs are more flat and they are called suspended gongs because they can be literally suspended. These suspended gongs can be hung with the help of a chord that is passed through the holes very close to the rim and these are played with the help of a mallet or a bamboo stick.