Gongs/Tam Tam

A tam-tam and gong are instruments that are often confused for one another. A tam-tam is a non-pitched, metal instrument and is generally stuck off-center whereas a gong is a pitched instrument and often has a stroke boss or raised center point where it is struck by a mallet. Some gongs sustain a predominant pitch while others can have a bending pitch (either up or down). This effect is created in the hammering of the metal in the manufacturing process. Size will obviously effect the pitch and sustain of the instrument, but does not determine whether or not it is a gong vs. a tam-tam. The two primary manufactures of these instruments are those made in the Wuhan province of China and Paiste in Switzerland. There are other companies and distributors, but these are the primary sources of these instruments. Mallets/beaters come in a variety of sizes and shapes. For larger instruments - the mass and weight of the beater is very important to create the deep fundamental sound. These larger instruments need to be primed or "warmed-up" before striking. Special effects include scraping the face or sides of the instrument with a triangle striker or other metallic device. Bowing a gong or tam-tam produces an eerie, ethereal effect. Tuning gongs can be altered by hammering or by placing clay inside the stroke boss. This usually lowers the pitch of the gong. A gong play is a rack of tuned gongs set up in either a chromatic order or other configuration in order to play multiple pitches as in Puccini's "Madam