Gongs, a musical instrument, made of bronze, resemble a plate, are struck with a mallet. Its sound is deep, loud and intense, with a long and persistent aftersound.

A gong consists of three parts: the gong body, the gong frame (gong rope), and the gong gas (Fig. 6). The gong body is made of copper, because it is made of "ringing copper", so it is also called "ringing device". The structure is relatively simple, the gong body is in the shape of a disc, fixed around the frame around the body, and the central part of the gong is struck with the gong to vibrate the sound.

Generally, the central part is slightly convex, called the umbilicus, light or hall, which is the main part of the pronunciation, and the size and thickness of the umbilicus and the area of the gong determine the pitch of the tone, and there are also central parts that are flat without an umbilicus or protruding into a semicircular spherical shape, which constitute the main characteristics of the gong. Between the navel of the gong and the edge of the gong is called the gong surface, "two positions" or "inner and outer eight characters", and two gong holes are drilled on one side of the gong edge to tie the gong rope and facilitate the carrying or hanging of the gong frame. For a long time, through the continuous and careful creation of people of all ethnic groups, due to the different regions and occasions of application, a wide variety of gongs with different colors have been formed in China. According to the characteristics of the shape, it can be divided into three categories: flat gongs, umbilical gongs and milk gongs, according to the pronunciation level, it can be divided into three categories: bass gongs, alto gongs and treble gongs, and according to the performance form, it can be divided into two categories: single-sided gongs and combined gongs.

Among these gongs, the small ones are only a few centimeters in diameter, and the large ones are more than one and a half meters in diameter. Not only are they different in shape, but they also have their own characteristics in terms of timbre and effects. At present, the more commonly used gongs can be simply divided into four categories: large gongs, small gongs, palm gongs and cloud gongs. The pronunciation of the big gong is low, the gong side is drilled with a tether, the left hand lifts or hangs on the shelf, and the right hand holds the air percussion; the small gong has a higher pronunciation, the gong surface is sloped, and the gong navel is divided into three types: large, medium and small, with high tones, The middle and bass are divided, the gong edge is not perforated, no gong rope is tied, the inner edge of the gong is lifted at the index finger joint of the left hand, and the right hand holds the gong board to play; the palm gong is the smallest kind of gong, the gong surface is flat without an umbilicus, the shape is like a disc, placed in the palm of the left hand, and the right hand holds the gong board to play; the cloud gong is a musical instrument that can play the melody in the gong, which is composed of ten small gongs, tied to the wooden frame with a rope, the left hand holds the frame handle, and the right hand plays with the gong wind. Since the 60s of the 20th century, this combination of gongs has developed rapidly, and new varieties such as sets, rows, arrangements, qins, 29-tone cloud gongs, 36-tone and 38-tone cloud gongs have appeared.

Gong is a traditional Chinese percussion instrument, gong occupies a very important position in China's national band, and the application range is also very wide, it is not only used in the national band, folk instrumental ensemble, various operas, opera and song and dance accompaniment, but also is an indispensable instrument in celebration of gatherings, dragon boat races, lion dances, celebrations of harvest and labor competitions.

7 Simple Classification Editing

Chinese percussion instruments are divided into metal, bamboo, wood, and other three types according to the different materials they are made of. Gongs belong to the percussion instrument of the metal class. The gong is smelted from copper, and its structure is relatively simple, with a circular arc on the body of the gong, which is fixed around the frame of the gong body, and the player strikes the central part of the front of the gong body with a wooden hammer to produce vibrations and pronounce. The earliest use of gongs was carried out by ethnic minorities living in southwest China.

Around the second century BC, with the strengthening of cultural exchanges between various ethnic groups, the gong gradually spread to Chinese mainland. At that time, gongs were widely used in warfare, and ancient military leaders often used gongs to command armies in battle. The "gold" in the ancient Chinese military term "Ming Jin Collects Troops" is another name for the ancient gong.

For a long time, due to the different regions and occasions of application, there are more than 30 kinds of gongs of various types, among which there are two commonly used gongs: large gongs and small gongs. The gong is the largest of the gong instruments, ranging from 30 cm to 100 cm in diameter.

It is characterized by a generous pronunciation, deep and powerful, soft timbre, and a relatively long aftersound, and in large orchestras, the big gong often plays the role of enhancing the atmosphere and enhancing the rhythm, and in the drama it is used to enhance the atmosphere and highlight the character. Divided into three types of treble, alto and bass, with a diameter of between 21 and 22.5 cm, the small gong is a very versatile accompaniment instrument, especially used in Chinese dramas such as Peking Opera, Ping Opera, Bangzi Opera, Flower Drum Opera, as well as Quyi, drama, wind and percussion bands and folk dances.

8 Historical developments, edit

As far back as the Spring and Autumn Period, the Baipu people in southwest China and the Baiyue people in the south of the Yangtze River were famous for their metal smelting. The gong is one of the earliest musical instruments used by the ancient Pu people and the Luo Yue tribe, the ancestors of the Zhuang people. Yunnan is the birthplace of ancient Chinese copper drums, in the bronze drums unearthed from the ancient tomb of Shizhai Mountain in Jinning, some of the drum surfaces are hemispherical bulges in the middle of the hit, which is very similar to today's ones, this is a kind of primitive shape of the gong, there is a dance diagram on the gong surface, and there is a copper ring on the edge. In the murals of Ningminghua Mountain Cliff in Guangxi, there are also many precious image materials of Luo Yue people gathering gongs.

In 1978, from Guangxi Guixian (known as Bushan County in the Qin and Han dynasties) Luopowan No. 1 tomb, also unearthed a Baiyue copper gong in the early Western Han Dynasty, the gong is nearly circular, the horizontal diameter of the gong surface is 32.1 cm, the longitudinal diameter is 33.4 cm, the diameter of the gong navel is 22 cm, the edge of the gong is cast with an arch line pattern, the arch string is tied with three equally distant live rings, and the gong surface is engraved with the inscription "cloth" word. This is the earliest known bronze gong in China. It can be seen that gongs have a history of more than 2,000 years in China. After the Qin and Han dynasties, with the exchanges between ethnic groups, the gongs gradually spread to the interior, and they reached the Central Plains in the early 6th century AD, but they were recorded later. "Old Tang Dynasty Book and Music Chronicle" has in the "Copper Pull" article: "Copper Pull, also known as the copper plate, out of the West and Nanban." ...... The "copper plate" of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom's great man with a circle of several feet,...... is the earliest record of the gong seen in writing. When Chen of the Northern Song Dynasty mentioned the appearance of gongs in the Central Plains in the Book of Music, he said: "After the Later Wei Dynasty Xuanwu, it began to be a good Huyin. The capital was moved,...... Hit the sand gong. After 515 A.D., striking a small gong was called a sand gong. In ancient times, gongs were often used in ceremonies and warfare, and were once called "gold". Therefore, there is a saying of "sounding the gong to open the way" and "ringing the gold to collect the troops". By the Song Dynasty, gongs were used in the folk music form "drum board".

In the Yuan Dynasty, in addition to the gongs often sounded at the Yingsai shrines of various ethnic minorities, it was also the main accompaniment instrument for miscellaneous dramas. In "Lancai and Miscellaneous Dramas", there is: "Hold some ...... gongs, boards, and drums ......". In the "Yuan Shi Lile Zhi", the cloud (i.e., the cloud gong of today) began to be contained, and its form and performance method were described, in addition to the use of court banquets, it was also popular among the people, which fully shows that the manufacture and performance of gongs at that time had a certain level. After the Yuan Dynasty, with the development of opera art, a broad world was opened up for the use of gongs. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, gongs of various shapes have been widely used in opera music, dance music, traditional drum music, wind and percussion music, gong and drum music.

Gong occupies an important position in the accompaniment of Kunqu Opera, according to the Qing Dynasty Li Dou's "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record", at that time, cloud gongs, small gongs, soup gongs and large gongs were used in opera songs and dances. In 1791, the French composer Gosec began to use the gong in orchestral works. In China's vast urban and rural areas, gongs were also used as a tool for shoulder trade vendors and monkey charmers to solicit business along the streets, and the distinctive tone of gongs was used instead of hawking, called "calling heads". Since the 20th century, gongs have been widely used by ethnic minorities and Han people in folk entertainment, festivals, local operas and folk music, and participated in various bands.

The earliest use of gongs was carried out by ethnic minorities living in southwest China. Around the second century BC, with the strengthening of cultural exchanges between various ethnic groups, the gong gradually spread to Chinese mainland. At that time, gongs were widely used in warfare, and ancient military leaders often used gongs to command armies in battle. The "gold" in the ancient Chinese military term "Ming Jin Collects Troops" is another name for the ancient gong.

9 Extended Connotation Editing

The gong pieced together all the broken days in the countryside and put them together into a circle, so that the dream echoed inside. The sound of gongs is the most simple language in the countryside. The gong is lyrical with a pure local rhyme, flat and straightforward. The sun is a gong at sunrise, and the moon is a gong at sunset. The gong is the rut mark left by the farmer's wheel. has gone through the ups and downs of life, the rugged melody and bumpy rhythm have strung countless yesterdays into Hakka folk songs with strong customs and colors. The stars change, the seasons change, and the sound of gongs swirls through the country roads, sometimes suddenly becoming a pause for watch, sometimes infecting the distance with a passionate tone. Saving the moon is the most heroic page in the countryside.

From the lack of the moon to the full moon, the gong has gone through vicissitudes. The sound of the gong rises and falls meaningfully, and the villagers use their calloused hands to gild the most auspicious day through the gong. The dark and loyal face, the oily and unyielding back, the peasant's waist after bowing in the sound of gongs, and the industrious character tempered like a gong in farming. The sound of the gong is sonorous and powerful, and the village is no longer hidden in the lunar calendar. Whoever holds the gavel of fate will be able to ring the loud dream in his heart and the strong voice of life.

10 Chinese Percussion Editor

Chinese gong and drum music, a traditional folk instrumental music performance, is famous for its long historical origins, magnificent national style and unique oriental charm.

From ancient times to the present, whether it is a social and cultural phenomenon or a musical category, gong and drum music has always accompanied the life, thoughts and feelings of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to continue to reproduce, inherit and develop, and has become an artistic variety that the people like to hear, and is deeply rooted in the fertile soil of folk music, and has always played its irreplaceable social spiritual effect.

In recent years. With the general improvement of people's lives and the revival of cultural and artistic life, as gong and drum music closely related to the lives of the people, it has been active all over the country on an unprecedented scale, and the professional and amateur teams have gone hand in hand to create a prosperous situation of Chinese gong and drum music. With the active display of special gong and drum music performances on the stage at home and abroad, the extensive development of gong and drum music competitions in various places, and the successive production of a number of excellent percussion works, it can be said that since the 80s, Chinese gong and drum music has achieved unprecedented development in performance and creation, and is unique in musical life. Writing a new chapter in Chinese gong and drum music and making its development more in-depth and breadth-based depends on the musical performances of musicians, the active participation of composers, the theoretical guidance of music theorists, and the teaching and training of educators.

The theoretical research on Chinese gong and drum music, the predecessors of the music industry and many colleagues have achieved considerable results in this regard, which has provided us with valuable learning experience. The topic of the characteristics of Chinese gong and drum music involves many aspects, and this article mainly focuses on the two aspects of the band form, functional characteristics and performance techniques, combined with my own teaching and performance practice, and talks about my own superficial experience for discussion.

11 HistoryEdit

At the earliest, the gong was a musical instrument used by the Pu people who lived in the Dianchi area in ancient times and the Luo Yue tribe, the ancestor of the Zhuang people. In the No. 1 tomb of Luopowan in Guixian County, Guangxi, the Baiyue Bronze Gong of the Han Dynasty was also unearthed. It can be seen that gongs have a history of more than 2,000 years in China.

After the Qin and Han dynasties, with the exchanges between ethnic groups, the gong gradually spread to the interior, and it only reached the Central Plains in the early 6th century AD, but it was seen in historical records later.

In the Yuan Dynasty, in addition to the folk Yingsai shrine often sounded gongs, gongs were also the main accompaniment instruments for miscellaneous dramas.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the continuous development of the art of opera opened up a broad world for the use of gongs. Gong occupies an important position in the accompaniment of Kunqu opera in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and according to Li Dou's "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record" in the Qing Dynasty, Kunqu opera used cloud gongs, small gongs, large gongs and soup gongs. For nearly 100 years, gongs have been widely used in local opera, folk music, folk entertainment and festivals, and have even become a tool for hawkers and charlatans to solicit business.

According to incomplete statistics, there are about 30 kinds of gongs in China. In these gongs, the small ones are only a few centimeters in diameter, and they have their own shapes, tones, and effects. At present, the more commonly used gongs can be simply divided into four categories: large gongs, small gongs, palm gongs and cloud gongs.

12 Gong Sample Edits

A wide variety of large gongs

Percussion instrument. It is made of copper, round and flat, with a diameter of about 3_0_ cm, and has two parts: the gong gate (the gong center, a circular plane with a diameter of about 1_0_ cm) and the gong edge (the outer bevel connected to the gong center). When playing, hold the gong rope in your left hand so that the gong face is vertical, and hold the mallet in your right hand to strike the gong door or the edge of the gong with the head of the mallet (_wrapped in cloth)_ and pronounce the sound. The gong is high-pitched. The shape used in Peking Opera is smaller, called the Beijing Gong. It is mostly used for the upper and lower fields of military generals or robe-belt characters, or the emotions of war and sudden changes. There are heavy hits, light hits, muffled sounds, masking sounds, gongs, and edges.

The big gong is the largest gong instrument, with a diameter of about 30 centimeters. The pronunciation is broad and deep, with a soft, rich timbre and a long aftersound. It is often used in Chinese folk instrumental ensembles and opera and dance accompaniment. In Europe, the United States, and some countries in Southeast Asia, whether it is the launching of a steamship, the setting sail of a warship, or a bullfight, a horse race, or a boxing match, it is often necessary to sound a big gong to cheer up. In Western countries, large gongs are also used for religious ceremonies or to accompany singing and dancing. In some ethnic minority areas of Southeast Asia, the gong has a mystical overtone, and is sometimes used as a tool to ward off demons or pray for rain, and sometimes as a tool to convey messages.

The world-famous gong

Copying gongs, also called mountain gongs, is known as black gongs because it does not scrape the edge of the gong and the heart of the gong and is painted with black lacquer logos. It has been used for the longest time and has the widest range of use. In ancient times, from the emperor's court, court gatherings, generals going out on patrol to the festivals of the common people, the use of gongs was indispensable.

Modern gongs have different specifications and different uses. The weight is 1.5~44 kg, divided into large, medium and small: the diameter of the gong surface is 30~45 cm, which is used in Peking Opera and other dramas, and it is often used in folk marriages to open the way, so it is also called the opening gong. The diameter of the gong surface is 50~70 cm, which is often used by small and medium-sized song and dance troupes, orchestras or parade celebrations, and the large copy gong of more than 80 cm is used by large song and dance troupes and symphony orchestras. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's Central Orchestra has given the gong as a precious gift to some famous orchestras from the former Soviet Union, Germany, North Korea, Poland, the United States and other countries that came to China to perform and carry out cultural exchanges.

The opening gong is made of copper, the sound is particularly grand, and the echo is super long, and it is handmade. It weighs about 30 pounds. When officials traveled in ancient times, the officers would ring a gong in front of them to open the way. The gong is very particular: when the county official travels, he sings 7 times, which means "everyone in the army and the people must dodge", and when the government official travels, he sings 9 times, which means: "The official history, the military and the people and so on dodge away". When the admiral official travels, the gong is sounded 11 times, which means "civil and military officials, military and civilians, etc. If officials above the metropolitan level travel, they should sound 13 gongs, which means "large and small civil and military officials, military and civilians, etc.

Small gongs with different timbres

Small gong, folk called boring gong, called hand gong in the north, Wuhan area called class gong or echo class gong, called Beijing small gong in Peking opera, is the smaller body of the gong, small gong is divided into three kinds of treble, alto and bass, is the accompaniment instrument used in local opera such as Peking Opera, Ping Opera, Bangzi, Flower Drum Opera and Quyi, drama, wind and percussion band and folk dance. In the past, pea cake vendors and puppeteers on the streets of Beijing often used small gongs as a way to attract business. It is also a type of gong, and it is named because of the small surface of the gong. Copper, round, about 22 cm in diameter, slightly convex in the center, untied. When playing, use your left finger to support the inner edge of the gong, and hold a thin piece of wood in your right hand to strike the sound. Its tone is bright and crisp. The small gong is also known as the Beijing small gong in Peking opera, and it and the big gong are struck with the rhythm of the performance in Peking Opera, playing the role of foiling and enhancing the effect. In addition to sometimes highlighting its timbre characteristics, it also strikes the dots when it plays gongs and drums, which plays a rich ensemble effect.

A palm gong shaped like a small plate

The palm gong is the smallest of the gongs, only the size of the palm, about 10 cm in diameter, the gong surface is flat without an umbilicus, and the shape is like a disc. There are many varieties such as moon gongs, soup gongs and horse gongs, which are very popular among the folk and are widely used in local operas, folk music and gong and drum teams.

The development of cloud gong art

Yun Gong, known as the Nine Tone Gong in ancient times, is a musical instrument that can play tunes in the gong, and is often used in folk music, local opera and temple music. After continuous reform, the cloud gong has expanded the vocal range, improved the sound quality, beautified the timbre, and has become a solo instrument with rich expressiveness, which is adopted by the national orchestra.

Our ancestors arranged small gongs of different pitches very early on for musical performance. More than 600 years ago in the Yuan Dynasty, the cloud gong not only circulated among the people, but also used in the banquet of the court, at that time it was called the cloud "Yuan History, Banquet Vessel" said: "The cloud system is made of copper, for the small gong thirteen, the same wooden frame, there is a long handle under it, the left hand is held, and the right hand is hit with a small mallet." The shape and performance of the cloud gong are briefly described. The number of cloud gongs in the past dynasties is different, from the historical books and murals of the Yuan Dynasty, there are 10 tones, 13 tones and 14 tones of cloud gongs, and in the early Qing Dynasty, it has developed to 24 tones of cloud gongs.