A local auto body shop was selling empty 30 gallon barrels that had undercoating in them. At the time I knew that 55 gallon drums were originally used to make steel drums so I thought I could make a smaller version of them.
My first step was to cut off the bottom of the barrel to get a 2 1/2" depth. After cutting the first barrel I realized that I needed to get some hearing protection. I found my rubber ear plugs and then put a piece of foam over my ears and put on my old Radio Shack headphones. Finally, I wrapped a towel over everything. I looked like my Italian Grandmother but it worked well enough to finish the job of cutting the remainder of the barrels without damaging my hearing.
Using a 4 pound engineer hammer and punch I started pounding the face of the drum. It wasn't long before I new I could never pound all of these barrels out and then raise the different sections to produce the different pitches for a set of pans. Not only did it take more strength than I had but the sound was deafening even with my make shift ear protectors. At this point I made an executive decision to make button gongs, and since I have 2 gongs from Thailand I could use them as a pattern.
A button gong has a raised center produced by pounding the underside of the instrument. This creates a more focused sound and can actually be tuned to a specific pitch. Without this 'button', the instrument produces a more spread sound similar to what is commonly called a Tam-Tam in this country.
I had 4 barrels and ended with 4 different pitched gongs: E, G(F# depending on where it was struck), A, and B♭. I found that the diameter of the button determined the pitch and the length (raised portion) removed many of the unwanted harmonic partials resulting in a more accurate pitch.
I built these gongs around 1984 and it wasn't until this past June that I used them in a performance. It was a trio with recorder, piano, and 3 gongs.
This is not a project that I plan to repeat. It took too much physical power and harm to my hearing. However I did learn firsthand about the acoustics of gongs and tam-tams.
Fun! I am encouraging our great niece who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate to take up the drums...she is having a hard time with her instrument because of the hole in the roof of her mouth after this last surgery! I bet she would love gongs!
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