Editing Gong (section)

=== Chau gong (tam-tam) ===
{{Anchor|Chau gong}}
[[File:Chau gong.jpg|thumb|right|262px|The familiar "Chinese" gong (a {{convert|10|in|cm|adj=on|order=flip|abbr=on|disp=or}} chau gong)]]
[[File:Large gong at Ashikaga Banna-ji.jpg|thumb|250px|Large gong at Ashikaga [[Banna-ji]]]]
By far the most familiar to most Westerners is the ''chau gong'' or ''bullseye gong''. Large chau gongs, called ''tam-tams''<ref>Morris Goldberg in his ''Modern School... Guide for The Artist Percussionist'' (Chappell & Co., Inc., New York City, 1955), says that "in modern symphony orchestra names ''gong'' and ''tam-tam'' mean the same thing, that in scholarly circles, tam-tam is considered to be a slang expression taken from an African a word meaning drum", later associated with gongs of indefinite pitch, and as such was adopted by virtually all composers using the term and thus is used now interchangeably. There are exceptions: [[Benjamin Britten]], in his ''[[Cello Symphony (Britten)|Cello Symphony]]'', calls for both gong and tam-tam, distinguishing the domed instrument from the more usual orchestral instrument.[https://boosey.com/cr/perusals/score?id=10500]</ref> have become part of the [[symphony orchestra]]. Sometimes a chau gong is referred to as a ''Chinese gong'', but in fact, it is only one of many types of suspended gongs that are associated with China. A chau gong is made of copper-based alloy, bronze, or brass. It is almost flat except for the rim, which is turned up to make a shallow cylinder. On a {{convert|10|in|cm|order=flip|adj=on}} gong, for example, the rim extends about {{convert|1/2|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} perpendicular to the surface. The main surface is slightly concave when viewed from the direction to which the rim is turned. The centre spot and rim of a chau gong are left coated on both sides with the black copper oxide that forms during manufacture; the rest is polished to remove this coating. Chau gongs range in size from {{convert|7|to|80|in|cm|-1|order=flip|abbr=on}} in diameter.
====History====

The earliest Chau gong is from a tomb discovered at the Guixian site in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. It dates from the early [[Han dynasty|Western Han dynasty]]. Gongs are depicted in Chinese visual art as of the 6th century CE,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/gong-musical-instrument|title=Gong|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> and were known for their very intense and spiritual drumming in rituals and tribal meetings.<ref>Muller, Max. ''The [[Diamond Sutra]]'' (translation based on the Tang dynasty text, 蛇年的马年的第一天), sutra 1–4487, Oxford University Press, 1894.</ref> Traditionally, chau gongs were used to clear the way for important officials and processions, much like a police siren today. Sometimes the number of strokes was used to indicate the seniority of the official. In this way, two officials meeting unexpectedly on the road would know before the meeting which of them should bow down before the other.

==== Use in symphony orchestras ====
The tam-tam was first introduced as an orchestral instrument by [[François-Joseph Gossec]] in 1790, and it was also taken up by [[Gaspare Spontini]] and [[Jean-François Le Sueur]].<ref name=Berlioz-Treatise>{{cite book| last=Macdonald| first=Hugh |title=Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise: A Translation and Commentary| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZteQ_2uHZ8C&pg=PA286| series=Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs| year=2002| publisher=Cambridge University Press| isbn=978-1-139-43300-6| page=286}}</ref> [[Hector Berlioz]] deployed the instrument throughout his compositional career, and in his ''[[Treatise on Instrumentation]]'' he recommended its use "for scenes of mourning or for the dramatic depiction of extreme horror."<ref name=Berlioz-Treatise/> Other composers who adopted the tam-tam in the opera house included [[Gioachino Rossini]], [[Vincenzo Bellini]], and [[Richard Wagner]]:<ref>Although in modern, 20th century and beyond, performances sometimes conductors were adapting tam-tam in orchestra for the performances of [[Gluck]]'s ''[[Alceste (Gluck)|Alceste]]'' and ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' (as ones used in the [[Metropolitan Opera]] historical productions), there is no trace of it in original scores of Gluck himself, so it must be considered an additional effect rather than the wish of the composer himself.</ref> Rossini in the final of act 3 of ''[[Armida (Rossini)|Armida]]'' (1817),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ciao/Rossini%20operas/1armida.html |title=Instrumentation used in ''Armida'' by Rossini |publisher=Humanities.uchicago.edu |access-date=11 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926074751/http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ciao/Rossini%20operas/1armida.html |archive-date=26 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bellini in ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' (1831) and Wagner in ''[[Rienzi]]'' (1842). Within a few decades the tam-tam became an important member of the percussion section of a modern symphony orchestra. It figures prominently in the symphonies of [[Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky]],<ref>[[Symphony No. 2 (Tchaikovsky)|Symphony No.2]] and [[Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)|No.6]]</ref> [[Gustav Mahler]],<ref>[[Symphony No. 6 (Mahler)|Symphony No.6]] and ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]''</ref> [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]<ref>[[Symphony No. 4 (Shostakovich)|Symphony No.4]], [[Symphony No. 8 (Shostakovich)|No.8]], [[Symphony No. 10 (Shostakovich)|No.10]]. [[Symphony No. 11 (Shostakovich)|No.11]], and [[Symphony No. 13 (Shostakovich)|No.13]]</ref> and, to a lesser extent, [[Sergei Rachmaninov]] and [[Sergei Prokofiev]]. [[Giacomo Puccini]] used gongs and tam-tams in his operas. [[Igor Stravinsky]] greatly expanded the playing techniques of the tam-tam in his [[The Rite Of Spring]] to include short, quickly damped notes, quick crescendos, and a triangle beater scraped across the front of the instrument. [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]] used a 60" [[Paiste]] tam-tam in his ''[[Momente]]''.