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Multi-gong instruments are none other than the typical South-East Asian gong chimes. They are like instruments with suspended keys, but horizontal gongs are used instead of the keys. The same could be said for uni-gong instruments, although single-keyed instruments are rare.
In the gong chime, the gongs are suspended by ropes stretched in a frame. The frame can be more or less box-like, more rarely a fully resonant box. It must be remembered that each gong is not only an idiophone, but also a ‘resonator of itself’ because of its cavity. It is a similar case with the bamboos of the calung and grantang.
The single gong instrument can be used in different ways :
- A simple gong is carried by the player in processional music. His other hand strikes it with a stick.
- The gong rests on the player's lap or on the ground.
- It is suspended by ropes stretched in a frame, forming an instrument resting on the floor like other gamelan instruments. The frame is often deeper than in the gong chimes. It functions thus as a mild resonator.
Some instruments may be difficult to classify : when we arrange several uni-gongs into a row, is it one instrument or a set of instruments ? The border between uni- and multi-gong instruments is not a fixed nor clear-cut one.
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