The Way of the Gong™

I've been a musician for most of my life. In that time I've hauled a lot of equipment around, from huge drum sets augmented with timpani and percussion, to large and intricate Gong arrays. In all that time I've never really minded the set up and tear down of my gear. Setting up is very meditative for me. I prefer to set up in silence, concentrating on each piece of my stands as I put them together, then concentrating on each instrument as I hang or mount it. Too often, people at the venue either want to help, or to chat. I try to be polite, replying that there's really nothing they can do to help at this time (I'm always happy to have help for loading in and out though), or quickly answering any questions, then getting back to the task at hand. I know many musicians who complain about setting up and tearing down. They are only focused on the actual performance time. But I find it important to take my time setting up as a preparation for the coming performan...

It's not always easy to walk your own path, especially if it goes against current trends and fashion. But what else are you to do?  Well meaning friends might make suggestions like, “You should be more like X,” or, “X does it this way.” And then there's our own, insecure inner monologue saying, “Why can't I be more like Z,” or, “Maybe I could do better if I copied Z.”  But we quickly find that when we step into someone else's world, we step out of our own. And the main problem is, that when we try to be like someone else, we are always just a copy . We can never be the original, and this is why we are always a step or two behind, because we're following, not leading. When we first start out in something, we often copy others, but that's a part of the learning process. As we continue, we should eventually grow out of copying and move into doing our own thing. Too often I see people who never get beyond the copying stage. Maybe that's all they aspire to,...

One problem with gongs, singing bowls and bells is that, it's all too easy to just strike them and get a pleasing sound. There is no training or long term study needed just to make a pleasant sound. Try this on most any other instruments, and you would not be as successful. Pick up a guitar, a trumpet, or a cello, and try to play some music without ever having played it before. For most of us, we wouldn't even know where to start. And when we finally did attempt something, it would most likely be some sort of noise and not a pleasing note. This leads to a recent Facebook question and the ensuing responses: “A respected gong person said you should never hit a symphonic or planet or tuned gong with a clear centre ring, in that ring too often or gong will go out of tune. Any comments??” The question is a legitimate question. In answer to the above question, there is nothing wrong with striking the gong in the center, or anywhere else . This is an ongoing myth, most like...