The Way of the Gong™

I'm always looking for ways to improve my set up and improve how everything works. It's often the simple and inexpensive things that seem to work the best. Here are 2 easy and inexpensive hacks for your own use. Table Matters I use a table in front of me covered with Rin & Singing Bowls, Bells, and other percussion instruments. Even though I use a covering on the table—which itself is carpeted—sometimes things move around. Also, the Bowls probably lose some resonance by sitting flat on the table cloth.  So what did I do? I went to Target™ and bought an 18" X 8' roll of a rubbery, slightly sticky cupboard shelf liner. You can find it in various colors at most variety and hardware stores, and of course on Amazon. I bought a very dark black/grey color.  Shelf liner on top of my percussion table My table is 2X4 feet, so I just cut the roll in half to have an 18" X 4 foot piece to lay on top. It's perfect! I now have 1 piece for my gigging s...

Being a musician and making a sound is a very visceral act. The sound begins before you even strike the instrument. It forms in your mind and comes from your intent. It comes from years of practice so that you know what the sound will be before you even make it.  Just striking something is not sufficient. You need to know what will happen when you strike it. You need to hear and feel the sound before you make it. And in the context of all the sounds you are making, you need to know how a new sound will fit with the current ones, how it may alter them or add to them. You also need to know how that sound will fit into the room you are playing in and how others will perceive it. This only comes from working on your art repeatedly—over and over and over.  So many sounds to make… There are no shortcuts. Experience is the best teacher. And you only gain experience by doing, not by thinking about it or watching someone else doing it, but by doing it yourself. Even when ...