Virtual Gong: play our gongs online
Hand-hammered stainless steel, in your browser. Choose a mallet or a flumi, a tuning and a size.
Warning: these are synthesized sounds, not the real sound of our gongs yet. We are recording real samples soon, and the app will be updated.
On iPhone, turn off silent mode to hear the gong. Keyboard: Space strikes, D or Esc damps.
How to play
Choose a mallet and tap the gong: a soft felt mallet blooms slowly, a hard rubber one speaks brighter and faster. Hold your finger or the mouse button down for a roll that builds the sound. With a flumi, press and drag across the surface to make the gong sing and howl, as you would with a real friction mallet. Where you strike matters too: the centre brings out the fundamental, the rim the shimmering overtones. Strength goes from pianissimo to fortissimo, and Damp silences the gong.
Tuning: 440, 432 and planetary
Pick a note on any of our four sizes, at A = 440 Hz (the reference we use by default) or A = 432 Hz. Planetary plays the frequencies Hans Cousto calculated from the orbits of the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and the planets, folded by octaves into the range of our gongs. Read more in our gong tuning guide.
The notes of each size
- 50 cm Handheld Gong: A2 to G3, your choice.
- 60 cm Core Gong: C2 to G♯2, your choice.
- 80 cm Low Gong and 100 cm Low Bass Gong: C1 to B1, according to availability. The 1 metre gong has a longer sustain and a darker, wider voice than the 80 cm on the same note.
A model, not a recording
The sounds are generated live in your browser from an acoustic model of our gongs; they are not recordings yet. We are recording real samples and will update the Virtual Gong with them. Until then, to hear our real gongs, watch the videos on the 60 cm, 80 cm and 100 cm pages. If you already play other instruments, the free strobe tuner shows which notes pair with yours.
