Gong

The earliest gong ever discovered dates back to some time between 202 BC and 220 AD. Gongs are percussion instruments that have their origins in the southeast and east Asia. Flat metal discs called gongs are often pounded with a mallet. They can vary in size from little to large, and they can be tuned or not.

It is hammered with a mallet or hammer to produce a powerful sound that can sound either clean or piercingly loud. The sound pressure levels can go as high as 106db, if not higher. It is the same as hearing a jet take off from 1,000 feet (305m).

In Chinese and Buddhist temples, gongs have been used to call people together and to signal when it is time to wake up and when it is time to retire to bed. However, this instrument has been used for a wide variety of other purposes, including playing musical compositions with several gongs and displacing crowds with a loud sound.