A gong is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. A gong is a flat, circular metal disc that is typically struck with a mallet. They can be small or large in size, and tuned or can require tuning.
One of Javanese and Balinese style gong for gamelan ensemble, hanging in an ornate frame.
Two men (right) are lifting the gong depicted on the 13th-century temple reliefs at the Candi Induk, Panataran temple complex in East Java, Indonesia
A gong collection in a gamelan ensemble of instruments – Indonesian Embassy Canberra
A Gong depicted on the 15th-century temple reliefs at the Candi Sukuh in Central Java, Indonesia
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments. In spite of being a very common term to designate instruments, and to relate them to their players, the percussionists, percussion is not a systematic classificatory category of instruments, as described by the scientific field of organology. It is shown below that percussion instruments may belong to the organological classes of idiophone, membranophone, aerophone and chordophone.
Orchestral percussion section with timpani, unpitched auxiliary percussion and pitched tubular bells
Djembé and balafon played by Susu people of Guinea
Concussion idiophones (claves), and struck drums (conga drum)
Modern Japanese taiko percussion ensemble
