Tuned Gongs

Recently I have been pondering the idea of writing a new piece and including some strange and bizarre parts in it. In the past few days I was introduced (via the internet) to tuned gongs. However Google will give me pages of information about them but i have not been able to find the range of these instruments any where. So, my question to all you fellow composers and musicians is, "Does anyone know the range of the tuned gong?"

Looking forward to your replys,

Justin

I can score you a few gamelan ensembles.

Corbin might know more about it, but I'm pretty sure each gong is made singly for the ensemble, so the range is up to you. Also be aware that the tuning system they use isn't really compatible with the west (though one is similar to a pentatonic scale).

Check out some of the Sun City Girls for some pseudo gamelan, or the Gamelan Pacifica (both are easy to find online).

So the gongs are specially ordered depending on the notes you want to use?

Have a listen to the start of Part Three of my opera At the Hawk's Well where I've used Javanese gamelan gongs in an orchestral context. It's just a very short passage but I think this largely covers the range, it was written a while ago. It's correct that they have their own tuning system, however there was enough of a correspondance to link them to specific pitches of our Western scale.

Thanks for all your help, it's very much appreciated.

Just for the record my idea is to combine a symphonic orchestra with 6 percussion parts.

The parts being: 1)Timpani, 2)Glockenspiel and Chimes, 3)Xylophone and Marimba, 4)Tuned Cowbells and Tuned Gongs, 5)Cymbals, Snare, Bass Drum 6)Temple Blocks.

That excerpt from your opera is absolutely gorgeous!

Thanks. I lived in Java for a few months in 1984, and during that time only heard traditional Javanese music - I think it influenced several works afterwards.

Most Orchestras have sets of tuned gongs, but their range can differ a lot. The range I was aware of as more or less "standard" is C2 to G5, but as I mentioned, it varies a lot and you should check with the performers (well, if you have performers available) what they have at their disposal. (Personally, I wouldn't stretch the range much in the upper register anyways, since the tone loses a lot of resonance there. I find the gongs sound most "gong-like" in their middle register, say around C3 to G4, maybe a bit lower and higher.)

Regardless of how many gongs are available, you should consider whether you actually need a whole chromatic set, or just a limited number. Gongs take up quite a lot of space on a stage and having a chromatic set over three to four octaves on the stage may be over the top, if it's not absolutely necessary, or if you're not writing a piece that focuses specifically on gongs. Generally, I'd rather make a selection of up to 10 specific pitches, which would already be a lot more than commonly used. (Many pieces feature just three gongs or so, if any.)

As for your percussion setup: That sounds quite nice! You might also consider pairing the gongs with some tubular bells and plate bells, and possibly other metallophones such as a vibraphone. Such combinations can give you awesome variations in colour and very unique blends. (Again, I'd advise against getting whole chromatic sets of plate bells, just use a few.). Combinations with their "untuned relative", the tamtam, can be quite effective too, as long as used sparingly. (Gongs as well as tamtams [and Xylophones for that matter] have such a characteristic sound that they can become tiring if used excessively as "cool effects".)