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Electric Gong Exhibit: non-technical abstract

The sound of a sneeze, echoed in a bronze gong, led me to discover that a full rainbow of notes is available inside this ancient instrument. Traditionally, a gong is struck with a mallet, and we hear all of its notes at once; using electronics, I found a way to isolate their frequencies and play them individually. Far from the crashing roar of a mallet-stroke, the new sounds swell up slowly and shimmer. Deep drones, eerie melodies, and silvery high notes are part of the sonic territory of the Electric Gong. Austin Childrens Museum has commissioned an installation of three of these instruments as an Austin-born complement to the traveling pieces in Play It By Ear.

The ethereal nature of the sounds from the Electric Gong installation is reflected in its design; the instruments are suspended in mid-air, clustered as if in flight. Visitors interactively sound the gongs via a touch-sensitive console. By nature, each gong has a unique scale of notes it can produce. These are represented graphically on the console as a constellation of notes similar to a star map. Touching the stars activates the sound-producing mechanism; clever visitors can discover melodies as they explore the constellation diagrams. A working model of the electromechanical heart of the instruments is presented, encouraging visitors to touch and feel the vibrations it generates. With minimal text, the exhibit relies on visual cues and sound to guide children and adults alike through the experience.

The exhibit is set to open on January 19th, 2008.