Playing the 34" (86.4 cm) Chinese Chau gong in different ways

Please take the time to read this description. Mind your volume control; this instrument gets loud! While trains and thunderstorms are two of my interests, another of them is gongs. High Quality is recommended for this video, and headphones as well. If you use headphones, be careful, because the instrument gets loud in this video.

Here is another video of myself playing the large 34" chau gong. I have new ways to play it, including a superball mallet. I play the gong differently in this video than I do in the last one--my routine is not laid back like the last one. Most of my playing is experimentation with my own mallets. The result is more of a gongbath-type sound--a continuous rushing and cleansing sound. When I listen to this with headphones, I personally feel like I am in a large river with the sound rushing over me like the water, with a similar cleansing effect. See how it works for you!

All of the mallets that you see me use are my own.
The mallet with a black and gray head is a professional mallet from Black Swamp Percussion, the medium size I believe (GT3). This is a fantastic mallet because it has four different faces, each with different sizes and/or hardness. Each face is capable of producing their own unique sounds from the same instrument.
The mallet with the large white head is a mallet from China. Its size and fabric provides for interesting sounds when it is used to play the instrument softly. This mallet is not so good for playing the instrument with force however, because the fabric doesn't provide enough cushion to protect the instrument from the hard plastic interior, and it can create undesired banging sounds in the instrument. However, the mallet is still good for soft to soft-medium playing, and wouldn't cause any undesired sound if used carefully.
The small white mallet is the same mallet I used to play my Paiste gong, but it has a more solid handle now. In this large gong it can create meditative medium tones with a very interesting blend.
I also use a superball mallet to create wailing tones in the gong. I made this mallet myself. Right now I don't have much experience playing large gongs with the superball (this is the only one I've had access to), and this one doesn't always respond to the mallet. Therefore, I've edited out portions of the original footage where the gong doesn't respond (or responds so quietly that the camera does not pick it up). The edit is also for time-saving purposes. When the gong does respond however, it can create very interesting and beautiful tones.

[Addition]: Note that this instrument is often called a tamtam. A tamtam is a sister instrument to the gong, and many sources refer to the tamtam as a type of gong with no precision tuning. The tamtam is not precision-tuned, although it can have a strong fundamental pitch. Many precision-tuned gongs have domes in the center (although there are also tuned gongs with a flat center, like a tamtam). I refer to this as a gong because (1) of the similarities between the two, and (2) becuase more people (in general) are familiar with "gong" than with "tamtam", so please don't flame me for calling this a gong.


Enjoy!

I must reiterate that I am not an expert gong player or sound healer. I am sharing more of the sounds that this amazing instrument can produce. This video is meant to entertain those who are and might be interested in gongs and their sounds. Any rude, unnecessary and/or inappropriate comments will be removed. Otherwise, feel free to post comments and rate! This video and all of its contents are my property, and are not to be used by anyone else for any gain.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• chinese
• chau
• gong
• 34
• inches
• in
• in.
• 86.4
• centimeters
• centimetres
• cm

[distubedrat]

smack that gong like you mean it!

[Cchrisbud813]

@distubedrat That is not the purpose of this video.

[audhen1]

tamtam - not a gong.

[Cchrisbud813]

@audhen1 In the description of my first video playing this instrument, I explain why I refer to this as a gong and not a tamtam (although I do recognize that this is a tamtam).

[grajdrums]

Anyone know how to listen to paiste gongs at their website? I can't find any sound examples.

[Cchrisbud813]

@grajdrums I don't believe that the Paiste website has any sound samples. However, there are other places online that carry sound samples of various Paiste gongs.

[vijaydj1993]

@distubedrat lol i know right! if that was me id beat the crap out of it ;)

[jbearden]

Wow! Sweet!! What a cool mallet, yoo!

[Mslauriie42]

and yes it's true - he is playing a tam tam ;)

[Mslauriie42]

it's sooooooooooooo amazing!!!!!!! i love tamtams!!!!!!!!! :D

the difference between gong and tam tam is that a gong is smaller and you can change his sound, a tam tam is bigger and you can't change his sound :)

[stillphil]

even though this is a low bit rate MP3, one can still appreciate the majesty.

[MichaelKhanTV]

what's the difference between a tamtam and a gong?

[TheStinkus]

beautiful

[masterbate23]

@Cchrisbud813 whats the difference?

[Schinken909]

klopp da doch ma richtig drauf

[MrMaxPounder]

u say tomato i say big ass gong