The earliest possible depictions of gongs is from the details on the surface of the Ngọc Lũ I bronze drum (c. 3rd to 2nd century BC) from the Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam.

Scientific and archaeological research has established that Annam, Java, Burma, and Southern China were the four main gong manufacturing centres of the ancient world.

[2][3] The gong found its way into the Western World in the 18th century, when it was also used in the percussion section of a Western-style symphony orchestra.

A gong with a substantially flat surface vibrates in multiple modes, giving a "crash" rather than a tuned note.

In Indonesian gamelan ensembles, some bossed gongs are deliberately made to generate an additional beat note in the range from about 1 to 5 Hz.

In Western symphonic music, the flat faced gongs are generally referred to as tam-tams to distinguish them from their bossed counterparts.

The earliest Chau gong is from a tomb discovered at the Guixian site in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China.

Gongs are depicted in Chinese visual art as of the 6th century CE,[8] and were known for their very intense and spiritual drumming in rituals and tribal meetings.

[9] Traditionally, chau gongs were used to clear the way for important officials and processions, much like a police siren today.

The tam-tam was first introduced as an orchestral instrument by François-Joseph Gossec in 1790, and it was also taken up by Gaspare Spontini and Jean-François Le Sueur.

It is widely used in Buddhist memorial services, hayashi performances, kabuki music, and ship departure signals.

The larger gong is used to announce the entrance of major players or men and to identify points of drama and consequence.

Traditionally, a wind gong is played with a large soft mallet, which gives it a roaring crash to match their namesake.

Sculptural gongs were pioneered in the early 1990s by Welsh percussionist and metal crafter, Steve Hubback, who was partially inspired by the work of the French Sound Sculptors, Francois and Bernard Baschet.

Hubback's works have been used by many musicians including solo percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and rock drummer Carl Palmer.

UK based sculptor Barry Mason[17] makes gongs in titanium and other elemental metals.

This alloy is excessively brittle when cast and allowed to cool slowly, but it can be tempered and annealed in a peculiar manner to alleviate this.

When suddenly cooled from red heat, the alloy becomes so soft that it can be hammered and worked on the lathe then hardened by reheating.

The composition of the alloy of bronze used for making gongs is stated to be as follows: 76.52% Cu, 22.43% Sn, 0.26% Pb, 0.23% Zn, 0.81% Fe.

[citation needed] The gong is then beaten with a round, hard, leather-covered pad that is fitted on a short stick or handle.

[4] The gong has been used in the orchestra to intensify the impression of fear and horror in melodramatic scenes and usually, but not exclusively, players interpret the term to call for a tam-tam, as noted above.

The tam-tam was first introduced into a western orchestra by François-Joseph Gossec in the funeral march composed at the death of Mirabeau in 1791.

Stockhausen created more interesting sounds using hand-held microphones and a wide range of scraping, tapping, rubbing, and beating techniques with unconventional implements such as plastic dishes, egg timers, and cardboard tubes.

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, it was often the custom in hotels, on ships and in large, upper-class houses to sound a dinner gong to announce a meal was about to be served.

Mechanical bells, known in some places as a gong, are struck by an electric-powered hammer to audibly warn motorists and pedestrians of an oncoming train.

Traditionally, the gong was operated by a foot pedal, but is nowadays controlled by a button mounted on the driving panel.

A vessel over 100 metres (330 ft) in length must carry a gong in addition to a bell and whistle, the volume of which is defined in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

[23][24] A vessel at anchor or aground sounds the gong in the stern immediately after ringing a bell in her bows so as to indicate her length.

[25] Electromechanical, electromagnetic or electronic devices producing the sound of gongs have been installed in theatres (particularly those in the Czech Republic) to gather the audience from the lounge to the auditorium before the show begins or proceeds after interlude.

[citation needed] In the Commonwealth, emergency vehicles were fitted with electric, manual, or vacuum operated Winkworth bell gongs in the time before Martin's horns became available or rotary sirens came into use