21-22 – General Ed – Week of 3/16 – 3/22
Meet The Instruments
The Percussion Family
The Gong
A gong[note 1] is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs are a flat, circular metal disc that is typically struck with a mallet. They can be small or large in size, and tuned or untuned.
The earliest mention of gongs can be found in sixth century Chinese records, which mentioned the instrument to have come from the Western Regions (a region covering modern day Tibet, Xinjiang, and Central Asia). The term gong (Javanese: ꦒꦺꦴꦁ) originated in the Indonesian island of Java. Scientific and archaeological research has established that Burma, China, Java and Annam were the four main gong manufacturing centres of the ancient world.[1] The gong found its way into the Western World in the 18th century, when it was also used in the percussion section of a Western-style symphony orchestra.[citation needed] A form of bronze cauldron gong known as a resting bell was widely used in ancient Greece and Rome: for instance in the famous Oracle of Dodona, where disc gongs were also used.[2][3]
Gongs broadly fall into one of three types: Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top rim. Bossed gongs have a raised centre boss, or knob, and are often suspended and played horizontally. Bowl gongs are bowl-shaped and rest on cushions. The latter may be considered a member of the bell category. Gongs are made mainly from bronze or brass but there are many other alloys in use.
Gongs produce two distinct types of sound. A gong with a substantially flat surface vibrates in multiple modes, giving a “crash” rather than a tuned note. This category of gong is sometimes called a tam-tam to distinguish it from the bossed gongs that give a tuned note. In Indonesian gamelan ensembles, some bossed gongs are deliberately made to generate in addition a beat note in the range from about 1 to 5 Hz. The use of the term “gong” for both these types of instrument is common.
32″ Chinese Chau Gong – Sound Healing Meditation – The Gong Shop
The gong ageng (or gong gedhe in Ngoko Javanese, means large gong) is an Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra and the only large gong that is called gong in Javanese.[1] Unlike the more famous Chinese or Turkish tam-tams, Indonesian gongs have fixed, focused pitch, and are dissimilar to the familiar crash cymbal sound. It is circular, with a conical, tapering base of diameter smaller than gong face, with a protruding polished boss where it is struck by a padded mallet. Gongs with diameter as large as 135 centimeters (53 inches) have been created in the past, but gongs larger than about 80 centimeters (31 inches) are more common especially to suit the budget of educational institutions.[2]
The Musical Fact Of The Week
Question
What is an important musical fact to know?
Answer
Americans spend more than four hours a day listening to music. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem is the first rap song to win an Oscar. The most expensive musical instrument in the world is a Stradivarius violin, with one being sold for $15.9 million. A person’s heartbeat mimics the beat of the music he or she is listening to.
The Stradivarius Violin
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries.
According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed.[1][2][3] The many blind experiments from 1817[4][5] to as recent as 2014[2][6][1]) have never found any difference in sound between Stradivari’s violins and high-quality violins in comparable style of other makers and periods, nor has acoustic analysis.[7][8]
Eminem – Lose Yourself (VIOLIN COVER) – N I M A
Riddle Of The Week
Question
Which word becomes shorter when you add 2 letters to it?
Answer
The word “short.”
Composer Of The Week
Caroline Shaw
Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece Partita for 8 Voices.
Shaw was born in Greenville, North Carolina, and began playing the violin when she was two years old. Her mother was her first teacher. She began writing music when she was 10 years old, mostly in imitation of the chamber music of Mozart and Brahms. At the time, her main focus was on violin performance. Shaw received her Bachelor of Music (violin performance) from Rice University in 2004, and her master’s degree (violin) from Yale University in 2007. She entered the PhD program in composition in Princeton University in 2010.
Compositions
Voice
Solo Instrument
Chamber Ensemble
Orchestra
Multimedia
Film Score