The Way of the Gong™

I've owned and played Gongs (and related metals) for 40 years now, and it's been quite a journey. I've played Gongs in all types of musical situations: hard rock bands, prog rock bands, classical music, improv music, meditation, Yoga, and many others, both live and in the recording studio. Along the way I've collected around 70 Gongs from around the world, as well as over 100+ bells, bowls, cymbals, plates, and other resonant metals. And it's all about the journey. The journey has no end… This journey, even after all this time, still surprises me. I keep discovering new sounds, new techniques, new ideas each time I play. What I once thought of as a concise and codified musical experience has revealed itself to me to be unlimited. Playing the Gong is like playing an ever opening flower. neophyte noun   neo · phyte      \ ˈ nē-ə- ˌ fīt\ : a person who has just started learning or doing something After all this time, and countless concerts and musical sess...

This came across my radar recently, someone was posting about being a Gong Master after having taken a class with a well known person in the Gong community.  I'm sorry, you studied for a weekend, or a week, with someone and now you refer to yourself as a master ? Let's look at a few of the definitions of master: master noun  |  mas•ter  |  \'mas-t ər\ Definition of  MASTER 1 c   :   a worker or artisan qualified to teach apprentices d  (1)   :   an artist, performer, or player of consummate skill  (2)   :   a great figure of the past (as in science or art) whose work serves as a model or ideal Unfortunately, the definitions do not delve further into what it takes to become a master. They do not refer to the years, even decades, or practice and work that goes into mastering something. Nor do they speak of the devotion needed. Let us look at artists considered to be masters : Mozart, Beet...