They are also known as the table gongs.  
They fold up into a fairly compact bundle for transportation and storage.  
This is of necessity as I only have a small apartment for all of this stuff.  
Most of the gongs are made from hammered and torched
lids to restaurant size dishwashing detergent. 
I used to be able to get a lot of these on 6th St.
(Little India in my East Village neighborhood). 
But lately they are very rare and metal fatigue
is slowly making these gongs an endangerd species. 
Also in the mix is a hubcap,
hammered sections of steel construction studs
and bottoms of food service size fruit cans.

Here I am playing the Gamegongs during the Williamsburg Session

Here's a link to a recording from the Gametones ' first "Sessions Night"
at the Museum of Sound Recording that features the Gamegongs.
I've cleverly titled it Gamegongin'

Be a virtual Gametone

Play the Gametone instruments

COMMENTS: need to help my 11 yr.old daughter to make musical instrument for school! no dad to help just mom. need idea yesterday! please! ------- To the "mom" above send me your email address. Send it to gametone@wrybread.com , mike ------- Well done! Excellent! ------- great ideas ...... well done. ------- I need an idea for a good homemade percussion intrument. I am in seventh grade. I need help!!!! ------- Can you please HELP ME???? ------- WOW I'd love to see you play these!Thanks Cathy ------- need to make an easy percussion instrument. can you help me? ------- hello how are u i am fine i wanted to know the history of the gones and other percussion instruments ------- We need to make a homemade banjo over the weekend. Help please. cant find any directions at local library drfoster.wa@netzero.com ------- help ------- I need an easy instrument to make for a project due tommarrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in 9 th grade!!! Please help me!!!!!!!! e mail me at X1SweetGoddessX@AOL.com ------- I need an idea for a quick amd easy-to-make instrument for school. Please help! ------- this stuff is tranceadelic. do you see these things? ------- hey do you sell these? i have some room in my place, and they would sound great with my band. ------- I need to make an easy instument for school. It only need to have 5 note or pitches. How do i find out how to make the differant pitches? ------- need to make an instrument for school, how do i make one ------- hey i am doing a honors science project and we gotta make instruments with 45 different pitches and we gotta play a song...i need some help with comiing up with ideas...i like the gong one, i donno where i can find all of this stuff, tho! email at **** and make the subject "science project ideas" please help! thanks ------- i need 2 know how 2 make a homade flute ------- i need to make a brass intrument by 2/20/02 can u e-mail my for an idea alrd1061@aol.com ------- I need to make a gong that preschoolers can play. The only instructions I have found are for a hanging gong using a disposible pie plate. I want to use something that is a little more authentic sounding. It also needs to be made out of accessible materials. Do you have any ideas? please email me. SLBARR333@hotmail.com Thanks. ------- HELP PLEASE! IN DESPERATE NEED OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR SCHOOL TOMMOROW! IN SEVENTH GRADE AND CAN ONLY USE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS!!!!!!!!! ------- need to make instument for 3 rd. grade ------- need help for floor tom drum ------- need an idea for science project- how do you measure pitches to make a complete scale?!!! ------- i lve you ------- hey i love your website, i was just wondering if you could give some suggestions as to how to make the different pitches on the instruments, as you can see i have a project to do as well, by the way i'm in Gr.11, thanx a bunch for your time, yummychoca@yahoo.com ------- Thanks yc, Glad you like the site. Hope this will help you out. Your yahoo mail address is invalid, I'll put the info here: I'll use my chimes as an example, but the technique is generally useful for other instruments. http://wrybread.com/gametone/instruments/gamechimes.shtml What I do is just cut the tube to a length and then test it against a piano to see what note it most closely resembles. Then it's just a process of sawing bits off it until you hit the note exactly. Unfortunately you can only make the pitch higher, as shortening the length raises the pitch. Once you do have the note you want, you can pretty much just double the length to get a tube an octave lower, and halve the length to go an octave higher. All the other notes are lengths between those two. You can get clues as to how long to make the tube by paying attention to how many semitones separate the notes you want. The endless sawing is a lot of tedious work. Make sure you hold the tubes in a vise as you saw. An electronic guitar tuner or a pitch pipe may make your job a bit easier. But basically it is up to your ear and brain to judge what note it is. Try playing a set of notes on the piano and matching those notes with the tubes you cut. That is, play a melody on your instrument and see if you can play it on the piano as well, and the other way around as well. Good Luck, Mike ------- This instrument looks quite interesting! It looks O.K. to make and looks like a lot of fun to play! ------- ...§uper idea... ------- Have You Got Anymore Instruments That I Can Make That Are Simple ------- Sorry, none of my instruments are really easy to make. Here's a site with lots of pictures of musical instruments made by kids. You should be able to find something that will help you here: http://www.op97.k12.il.us/schools/longfellow/lrexford/base/ Mike ------- How do I make a piano out of homemade stuuf i am 11 and need help. ------- I don't want to discourage any of you young inventors, but in my considered opinion, making a piano at home, out of stuff you have lying around your attic or basement is a bit too difficult for a grade school project. Go for a simpler instrument. Try this site for some hints, maybe you can find something there that will satisfy the requirements of your assignment. If anyone out there does manage to make a home-made piano, I'd love to see it. Mike ------- I have been playing with homemade instruments in the resonator bar category and came up with a simple and cool idea. what you need.... *empty cardboard box *2 or more resonate butter knives *small rubber ball and dial rod or long nail Directions: cut a row of horizontal slits in the side of the cardboard box large enough to place the handle side of the butterknife into the box. Slide the butterknife into the hole(the blade side facing you.) You might want to experiment with different brands of and of butterknives...some are more resonate than others. Next stick the long nail or dial rod into the small rubber ball and you have a mallet. Your are ready to play your barred instrument! This is a quick and easy way to make this instrument, I am sure you could play with wood a base to make a more permanent and sturdy instrument. have fun! :) Angie ------- Thanks Angie, That sounds like a fun instrument. Mike ------- you got good ideas ------- This is good ------- how do you make a rainstick ------- can you tell me how to make a tambourine? ------- you idiout!!!! ------- Pay no attention to the random stupid comments you might get when you put say something in the comments box. It's just my machine trying to have a sense of humor. Machines don't have a sense of humor yet. It's nothing personal. Mike ------- Hi everone some very good ideas in here it is very impressive. I'm a college student in michigan taking a enjoyment of music class who started playing percussion in the 6th grade. At the end of term we have to have a paper I picked percussion instruments and I am having trubble finding info on how drumbs are actually made in or out of the USA. Any help would be great. Thanks alot. You can get back to me at Jacque1979@aol.com ------- I liked looking at your website, and seeing pictures of Gamelan instruments, as i am studying Gamelan music in my school. Thanks for giving me the chance to see your pictures. Kate. England ------- By the way to all u cool ppl, i jus wanna use this moment to say, I LOVE AMERICA!!! ------- By the way to all u cool ppl, i jus wanna use this moment to say, I LOVE AMERICA!!! ------- i need to help my 10 year old son make an instrument with two sounds for school!! ------- i need to help my 10 year old son make an instrument with two sounds for school!! ------- I NEED TO KNO HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE FLUTE WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS BY TONIGHT!! HURRT PLEASE! ------- I've put up several links for easy to make instruments for kids on the Gametone Universe Music Links page. Though flutes are not the easiest of instruments to make.- Mike ------- HI! My 4th grader needs to make a homemade instrument and the only requirement is that it should be able to make atleast 3 different notes. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, Cindy Young - bcyoung5@aol.com ------- your mum ------- i hate you ------- Inturessting, but not what i'm looking for! ------- Interesting but not really what i'm looking for, sorry! ------- I would just like to say welldone to, is it Mike?, this website is exellent. You should be very, very proud! ------- hehehaha wassup ya'll? lol so dat instrument is really kwel ill try 2 make something like dat 2. thanx! ------- pictures of the horn ------- this is weird ------- need imformation about the orchestra and pictures of it to please help! i'm in 7th grade ------- gv ------- how do you make a flute out of paper ------- i need to make an indtument in my tech ed class by hand... i need to use only things i can find at home...could you help me out. i am 13 ...thanks -------

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