Rock Gong

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Stone Drums

Cup mark indentations are scattered across the surface of many natural rocks. They give off a metallic sound when struck with an effective stroke.
They are usually layered on top of one another so that the player is within easy reach of different tones. It is common for a single rock, or group of rocks, to have multiple players beating against them at once.

Pebbles

Hammer stones are local stones that full conform to the players' hands to hit against the larger gong. Though some prefer rocks imported from the coast.
They come in pairs, one for each hand. A player's favorites are tied together with a long string of twine with which they can hang around their neck or across their shoulders when not in use.

Manufacturing process

Moving to the Galley

The silver mountains are full of very strange rock formations that have attracted people for a long time. While a great deal are either too large to move or too unstable to be safely struck, there are still a great many that can be played where they naturally rest. They just happened to be in places that lie outside where people normally live.
Therefore, if it is thought that a rock produces a particularly harmonious sound, it would be carried to the gallery. These rocks are then positioned in a way that maximizes the playable range of every drum to the most efficient amount of rock musicians.

History

The Rock Gallery

The gallery is accessed by a gravel road on the northwestern flank of Silver Mountain. It is 8 acres of a boulder filled area; and of which a third would ring. The rock found here were initially scattered randomly about and piled atop one another by natural forces.
The gallery's natural state still rings around the organized center. This is what people typically refer to when they mention going to the gallery. Various quality boulders, rocks and stones from around the mountains are arrayed in over 50 different orientations that combine:

• stacked slates that reach the standing man's waist
• boulders resting at the feet for beaters to stupe over while playing

Though often played solo, gongs can also be played as an ensemble. Continuously playing a rock produces smooth depressions in the rock that give it a matt-like texture. This wear is endemic to the instrument's generational use - darker patches indicate where a musical note was created several pachas ago.

Significance

Festivities

The gongs are usually played every afternoon to signal distant communities on the goings-on locally. But there are also special rituals to mark special occasions. Although, they would also be played for fun by small families units whenever they wanted, so long as they did not verberate across the salt plains and confused far-off communities.

Generally, the larger the rock the deeper the sound and vice versa.

— Piluta

Item type

Musical Instrument

Manufacturer

First Quadrant

Related ethnicities

• Dhani

Owning Organization

Fourth Quadrant

Rarity

Commonly confined to the base of the Silver Mountains

Weight

Several Tons

Dimensions

Variable

Raw materials & Components

• Boulders
• Smaller Rocks

Tools

• Tune Rocks
• Metal Shapers

Related Myths

• Star Barrage