Every Step of the Way

This has been a long journey. My personal history with the Gong started over 40 years ago. This blog has been around for over 3 years/129 posts now. I haven't gotten this far without commitment every step of the way. Even when I'm tired, angry, frustrated, or any of a thousand seeming emotions, I can always come back to the sound. 

 It is my life. 
It is my refuge.

 I'm not as young as I was all those years ago, and carrying around all these instruments and stands is not as easy as it once was. 

 I complain.
I Swear.
I wonder why I'm still doing this.
Atlas Shrugged

But it all becomes clear when I pick up the mallets and start bringing forth the sounds: “This is why I continue to do this.” Who wouldn't want to do this? 

 It's magic. 
It's amazing. 
It gives so much back for the effort I put into it.

 I have learned patience. I have learned devotion. I have developed a deep spiritual practice. And it's all connected to the sounds. It's well over 40 years now and I'm still with it every step of the way. 

 Where will you be after 10, 20, 40 years?

 ~ MB
Chop Wood / Carry Water / Play Gongs™ 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

528Hz, 432Hz, and Other Fallacies

Image
OK people, it's time to get real and actually do some reading and research, instead of just passing around articles that are so blatantly false! The latest one to come across my desk from Facebook is:  The Healing Benefits of 528 Hz & Other Solfeggio Frequencies . Follow the link and take a minute to read through this article. “I  don't really care if it's true or not, it's just fun and interesting.  I'm sure you'll feel the same.” Can 432Hz save the world? (photo from:  Forever Conscious ) Let's get real here. As a professional musician, I care about whether something like this is “true or not.” I also don't find bogus information masquerading as science “fun.” Let's look at some of the “fun” ideas this article presents: There is NO conspiracy to change our musical scales away from some “ ancient and sacred 6-tone scale” to something sinister and menacing. The Solfeggio system is just one of many, many musical systems used throug
Read more

Cracking/Breaking Gongs

Image
This comes from a Facebook percussion group I'm in. Apparently it was either an outdoor marching band or drum corps show: “Kid cracked a gong on the first hit of our show Saturday because he didn’t warm it up. Of course. It’s a decent sized crack, and we don’t have $1000 laying around to buy a new one. Is there any easy way to fix it? It's a Zildjian gong, idk how big, I'm going to GUESS 40"? It's cracked right at the edge of the gold ring and the outer ring, and it's about 4 inches long. The mallet we're using is not that hard and should not have done that kind of damage.” Without actually having been there, or seeing the Gong in person (apparently it was a Chinese Chou Gong), I can only speculate on this, but my first impression is that the kid overplayed the Gong by hitting it way too hard. Playing outdoors is difficult, because the sound dissipates quickly. There are no walls or ceilings to create reflections and contain the sound. Outside, you play
Read more

What's The Best Gong To Buy?

Image
I field questions nearly everyday from people asking about drums, percussion, and especially Gongs. Whether it's via e-mail, message, or even a phone call. the most popular question is:  “What kind of Gong (or singing bowl, or bell, or ride cymbal, or hi-hats, or drum head, or various other things) should I buy?” And I wish that I could just give everyone a nice, tidy, easy answer. But there are none. Part of my initial reaction to the question is, “How should I know?” This is not like buying toothpaste , where I can suggest a whitening one if your teeth look dull, or a freshening one if you have bad breath. Sound is completely subjective and personal I'm sure you wouldn't like some of the instruments I own and use, because they create the most unmusical sounds. But they work for me and the music I'm involved in. But let's look some typical questions and the criteria for recommendations: What Gong should I buy? - Is this your 1st Gong? 2nd? 27th? That ma
Read more