How the rock gong makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the rock gong belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
A rock gong is a slab of rock that is hit like a drum, and is an example of a lithophone. Examples have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Regional names for the rock gong include kungering, kwerent dutse, gwangalan, kungereng, kongworian, and kuge. These names are all onomatopœic, except for "kuge" which is the Hausa word for a double iron bell and "dawal" which is the Ge`ez word for a church's stone gong.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a rock gong sound like?
As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the rock gong?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.25).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q7354814 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Rock gong – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest – CC BY 2.0