About GongGoBong
I came to play the gong through a serendipity impulse purchase. Several decades ago, I found a 22-inch Wuhan brass gong, “by Daiko” made in China, for a bit over $100 from eBay. It hung out on the floor in a corner for most of these decades, being struck a few times, peed on by cats, and mostly collecting dust. But, one day, on a lark, I hung it from my pull-up bar and began striking it using various mallets, hands included. It gave a tinny, not exactly pleasant and not loud sound, but was capable of resonating various qualities. I began wondering how a truly nice gong would perform with the same techniques.
After a few years and research, I purchased a 32-inch Paiste Symphonic gong, a tall Meinl stand and various mallets to experiment with. It quickly became a hobby. After more years, a desire to record my playing developed so that I could more dispassionately evaluate the sound and listen to learn what I was doing right and how I could improve. I started simply: Two Shure SM-57 microphones, one close and one distant for room sound. Soon, I realized I needed more, so I enlisted help from a good friend and musician, Ronaldo Baca. He, over many months, has helped build a small but quality recording studio with several nice microphones judiciously placed. Add decent recording gear and computer, and the sound began to take on a beautiful clarity. Learning to use mixing and mastering software further improved the recordings and my ability to hear and, in turn, my ability to perform.
Several more months and I began posting my work. Soon it became clear that video was vital for movement and diversity, so we added a camera and blue-screen. The results are posted on YouTube with links from this website. It is a work-in-progress, a grand experiment. I hope you enjoy . . .
David Salgado
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Ty8uvuRdjgLInUb7imqFA
Please visit, like and subscribe to my channel if you do enjoy my work. It will help much to promote this project and gong music in general (or “sound”, for those who believe it is not “music”: I come from the Rock & Roll era, hence much of my music modelling is from that style, and I recall irate elders bemoaning that R & R is nothing but “loud noise”).
Meditation
I do not remember where I read this, but it is said that gong is so complex that, when listening, the mind cannot help but slide into a meditative state, as the sound is cohesive and coherent, but cannot be made sense of by the thinking mind, so a meditative state is automatically induced. It is a dynamic, moving meditation.
Warning: It is NOT recommended to listen to this music while driving, operating heavy machinery, or performing any task which requires focus and presence.
Many thanks to Ronaldo Baca for his immeasurable help and musical expertise in this project. He is a Master musician, performer and sound designer with decades of experience, and has put many hours into guiding and teaching me the ways of modern music recording and sound theory. Hint: There are no presets for Gong in effects software, and microphone placement has not been optimized in popular musical literature to date. It has been a joy having Ronaldo work with me. This project as is would have been impossible without him.
Disclaimer: I do not consider myself a musician per se. I have not studied music theory, cannot read music, and, though I played with a guitar and a synth for years in the distant past, I was never very good. I do not really even know what to call myself: A Gongist? Gonger? Gong Banger? Gong Bonger? Maybe Gongster? But no, I’ll settle for “experimental gong player” and be happy with that.
Peace
