Talk:Gong

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The numbers add up to 99.98. What's the 0.02? Was one of the numbers misscanned? -phma

Probably due to rounding. --Brion

I am a Taiwanese and haveddddd never heard of the "Chinese" name of "gong-gong or tam-tam" that 1911 Britannica claims. It sounds like some obscure theatrical jargon or baby talk (Motherese). Have any Chinese heard of it? If not, I think "luo" and lo4 (Cantonese) will suffice, because that is how I have always heard it. --Menchi 23:00 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

"tam-tam" is a pretty common term in European classical music for a large, unpitched gong (the usual one used in classical orchestras). According to the Concise Grove Dictionary of Music, "tamtam" is a Malay word, but most other dictionaries say it's Hindi. "Gong-gong" I don't know about. --Camembert

Britannica says "(Chinese, Gong-gong or Tam-tam)". Since it's not Chinese like what EB says, it should be noted so (as an English variant, or even that Gong is just a sub-type of Tam-tam). Now, gong-gong? I just checked Merriam-Webster, and it says it's Malay & Javanese too. Stupid EB.... --Menchi 23:27 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Fixed. --Menchi 23:32 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

As both a long-time percussionist and worker in metal manufacturing, my take on the WORD for GONG may not be revelatory, but it seems to me that if anything it was pidgin Chinese to call a gong a tam-tam--and, that said, probably also onomotopoetic because it could've referred to the ancient "sacred process" whereby, nearly alchemically, a sheet of bronze was beaten by an individual or crew to form the gong, over a form and/or into sand or other media. No gong worth hearing was ever created in a minute in the old days. I hope others will link to sites/pages that discuss some more sublime religious applications they've had over centuries.

How they make gongs now is probably far more efficient, although arguably the tone may or may not be 'better' using production machinery. Mass-produced or not, gongs have a very long history in the east, however, and I'm sure that this page will evolve over time to discuss that. Open-minded percussionists can make decent 'gongs' out of stainless steel mixing bowls or (Turkish/common drummer's) cymbals and close-miking (I have). The name is irrelevant (if you've ever had to select one to play with an orchestra and make it sound great); conductors wanting to sound academic often call them tamtams, less-snooty band directors say gongs.

My own experience is that handmade gongs from China vary widely, and always have (for obvious reasons). If you want one with a depth of character, it should have many hammer marks (dents), be made from tempered bronze of a good bell alloy (hard yet durable, not brittle; neither too thick nor too thin), and size does matter if you want impressive total volume. However, depending on how skilfully they're made, some smaller gongs could fool listeners if played behind a veil. --fjeinca 02:15 29 Dec 2005 (UTC)

The article seems to be mainly about one particular type of gong, the chau gong or "bull's-eye" gong. Large chau gongs used in orchestras are called tam-tams. But there are also other traditional types such as wind gongs, tiger-voice gongs, bowl gongs, nipple gongs, and opera gongs, and modern types such as Paiste's World gongs and Planet gongs. So it's not nearly so simple as the article makes out! I'll write about these when I have time unless someone else wants to. Try http://www.larkinam.com/MenComNet/Business/Retail/Larknet/Gongs for some information. Andrewa 01:24 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Done. Needs a refactor now, but the information is there. Andrewa 10:28 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup tag

I have removed the cleanup tag, it seems inaccurate and pointless to me. The Wikipedian who posted it has given no reason, didn't list it on the cleanup page, and has asked for no comments to be posted on their user page, so it's not obvious how they expect us to find out what they don't like about the article. They have some eccentric views on other aspects of Wikipedia as well, and have made many contributions despite periodically saying they are leaving permanently. Anyway, my conclusion was that the tag was merely detracting from a good article for no reason. Comments welcome, preferably on my talk page. Andrewa 14:14, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] What's the story with the drum in the intro?

This has been in the intro "forever".

Primitive drums are known as Tam Tams or slit drums. The people of Vanuatu in particular, cut a large log with 'totem' type carvings on the outer surface and hollow out the centre leaving only a slit down the front. This hollowed out log gives the deep resonance of drums when hit on the outside with sticks.

It seems to have started out as an explanation of the word derivation, but that's lost now ("slit gong" used to appear next to "slit drum"). I'm removing it (Be Bold....). --Alvestrand 22:50, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rem another tag

Removed the following tag:

The neutrality of this article is disputed. This article is largely based on text from the the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was produced in the U.K. in 1911, and it may express a worldview specific to that time and place. It needs extensive editing to bring it up-to-date and to put it in compliance with Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. Gong Gong

Frankly, that's a load of utter rubbish. The current article is not largely based on the 1911 article at all. It was once, long, long ago, and there's still a small section of unmerged material. But if you bother to check, you'll find that most of the current article is my work. Perhaps we should remove the remaining 1911 section entirely?

If you have disputes with the article, please describe them here. Putting misleading and inaccurate tags on articles and leaving no clue on the talk page as to why you've done this doesn't exactly improve the encyclopedia! Andrewa 09:06, 8 March 2006 (UTC) --~~~~Insert non-formatted text here--~~~~--~~~~

[edit] Bah

The gongs described in this article are for wimps. A proper gong is ten feet in diameter, made of bronze, and struck with a battering ram. --Carnildo 22:49, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] General?

Why is the "Gongs - general" section at the bottom? Shouldn't it be at the top/merged into the introduction? Laogooli 13:58, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gongs and Tam-Tams are not the same instrument

Why, then, is the tam-tam article a redirect to gong? zero stuko 11:30 22 Sept 2006 (GMT)

[edit] References to Gong in theater, radio time stamp

• re information on German radio - would be nice to make it more detailed
• re Theater references - it is so well-known fact that it is actually hard to find a better reference than just a few snippets from local newspapers saying "...audience was impatient for gong to start first show in remodeled theater." Couldn't find some formal reference in etiquette manual. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Voxhumana (talk • contribs) 19:20, 25 April 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Modern Orchestral Gongs

"The 38" Earth Gong vibrates at a frequency of 136.10 Hz/C# and affects the Heart Chakra" - What is this? Why is there new age metaphysics in an article about gongs? Vanilor 23:47, 19 June 2007 (UTC)Vanilor