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{{Short description|Indonesian musical instrument}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gong (gamelan instrument) Kempul TMnr 4423-2.jpg|thumb|300px|Gong Ageng in [[Gamelan|Javanese Gamelan]] ensemble]]
[[File:Traditional indonesian instruments04.jpg|thumb|300px|Two gong sets; [[pélog]] scale set and [[sléndro]] scale set. Smaller ''[[kempul]]'' gongs are suspended between ''gong ageng'' (largest, right-side) and its ''gong suwukan'' (left, facing rearward).]]

The '''gong ageng''' (or '''gong gedhe''' in Ngoko [[Javanese language|Javanese]], means large gong) is an [[Music of Indonesia|Indonesian]] [[musical instrument]] used in the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[gamelan]]. It is the largest of the bronze [[gong]]s in the [[Java]]nese and [[Bali]]nese gamelan orchestra and the only large gong that is called ''gong'' in Javanese.<ref name="Lindsay">Lindsay, Jennifer (1992). ''Javanese Gamelan'', p.10-11. {{ISBN|0-19-588582-1}}. "The largest phrase of a gamelan melody is marked by the deepest sounding and largest instrument, the large gong or ''gong ageng''....The ''gong ageng'' is made of bronze..."</ref> Unlike the more famous [[China|Chinese]] or [[Culture of Turkey|Turkish]] tam-tams, Indonesian gongs have fixed, focused [[Pitch (music)|pitch]], and are dissimilar to the familiar [[crash cymbal]] sound.
It is circular, with a conical, tapering base of diameter smaller than gong face, with a protruding polished [[boss (architecture)|boss]] where it is struck by a padded mallet.
Gongs with [[diameter]] as large as {{convert|135|cm|in|abbr=off|sp=us}} have been created in the past, but gongs larger than about {{convert|80|cm|in|abbr=off|sp=us}} are more common especially to suit the budget of educational institutions.<ref name="Wasisto Surjodiningrat 1993">Wasisto Surjodiningrat (Raden Mas), P. J. Sudarjana, Adhi Susanto (1993). ''Tone measurements of outstanding Javanese gamelan in Yogyakarta and Surakarta'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Gadjah Mada University Press. {{ISBN|978-979-420-273-9}}. 56 pages.</ref>

There is at least one large gong in each gamelan, but two are common and older gamelans may have three or more.<ref name="Lindsay"/> The ''gong ageng'' usually has its own name, which may be bestowed upon the entire set of instruments.<ref name="Lindsay"/> The gong ageng is considered the most important instrument in a gamelan ensemble: the soul or spirit of the gamelan is said to live in the gong.<ref>University of South Dakota. US National Music Museum, The Beede Gallery: ''Gong Ageng from the Javanese Gamelan Kyai Rengga Manis Everist'' at http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Gamelan/9918/GongAgeng99189919.html. Updated 9 September 2009. Access date 24 May 2010.</ref> ''Gong ageng'' are often proffered ritual offerings of flowers, food, and/or and incense before performances<ref>Broughton, Simon, et al., eds. (1994). ''World Music: The Rough Guide'', p.418. London: The Rough Guides. 1858280176</ref> or each Thursday evening<ref name="Lindsay"/> to appease spirits believed to live in and around it.

Commonly, less expensive iron gong ageng or a slit-type gong are made to fulfill the role of the bronze gong, though at the loss of sound quality- for poorer regions and villages.<ref name="Wasisto Surjodiningrat 1993"/>
The cost of expertly pure cast & beaten bronze has seen a rise in bronze-plated and bronze-laminated iron gongs created for the undiscerning expatriate.

==Acoustics==
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bas-reliëfs op de Candi Induk Panataran tempelcomplex TMnr 60037389.jpg|thumb|300px|Two men (right) are lifting the gong depicted on the 13th-century temple reliefs at the Candi Induk, [[Penataran|Panataran temple complex]] in [[East Java]], [[Indonesia]]]]

Traditionally, it is the first of the instruments to be made. A highly skilled gong-smith will smelt and cast, then supervises the hammering process, but will be solely responsible for the final fine tuning of the ''gong ageng'' pitch- the rest of the ensemble is tuned (and named) according to the qualities of the ''gong ageng''.<ref>Wasisto Surjodiningrat (Raden Mas) (1996). ''An introduction to Javanese Gamelan Music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Gadjah Mada University Press. 9794203866</ref>
It is the single most costly and lengthy item to fabricate- and often requires multiple re-castings due to stress-cracks created in the beating process of forming it and undesired tonal or [[timbre]] qualities. The pitch desired is very deep, distinctly pitched rumble that sound like thunder or the "rolling waves of the sea".<ref>Hood, Mantle (1988). ''Paragon of the roaring sea'', ''Book 3 of Evolution of Javanese gamelan'', ''Pocketbooks of musicology'', p.64. Noetzel, Heinrichshofen-Books. {{ISBN|978-3-7959-0282-7}}, 390 pages.</ref><ref>Hood, Mantle (1980). ''The Evolution of Javanese Gamelan: Music of the roaring sea'' in ''Volume 1 of The Evolution of Javanese Gamelan'', Pocketbooks of musicology; p.62-64. Heinrichshofen. {{ISBN|978-3-7959-0280-3}}. 229 pages.</ref>
Slight differences in the opposite halves of a gong create a desired "beating" in the sound. It is named according to subjective poetic descriptive images for different speeds of beats, comparing slow beats with waves of water and faster beats with Bima's laughter (Bima is one of the Pandawa brothers in the [[Mahabharata]] [[Epic poetry|epic]]).

The gong is fabricated to resonate at the lowest thresholds of human hearing (20&nbsp;Hz to 20,000&nbsp;Hz). Actual pitch will vary, but a fine ''gong ageng'' of example of the ''Nusantara Museum'' of [[Delft]] was measured to have a fundamental tone of 44.5&nbsp;Hz.<ref>Geert van Oldenborgh, G. (2002) ''Tone Measurement of Gong Ageng'' Museum Nusantara, Delft: www.xs4all.nl/~gjvo/gamelan/delft.</ref> The Gong Ageng has about a dozen prominent exponentially decaying partials, with some component frequency ratios that closely correspond to harmonics and others that are enharmonic. Many of the partials have a slow amplitude and frequency modulation of a few Hertz, and a faster modulation around 20&nbsp;Hz.<ref>Ayers, Lydia and Homer, Andrew (1999). "Synethesizing a Gong Ageng", ''Journal of the Audio Engineering Society'', Volume 47: 1999, {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Audio Engineering Society. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Available as pdf: http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~ich/research/misc/papers/cr1116.pdf</ref>
The instruments of the gamelan are then fabricated on the fundamental tone of the ''gong ageng'' pitch is basis of the slendro pitch "6" (''enam'', or ''nem'') of It is typically pitched to match the 6 of the gamelan.<ref>Hood, Mantle (1980). ''The evolution of Javanese gamelan, Volume 2'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Heinrichshofen. {{ISBN|978-3-7959-0281-0}}. 211 pages.</ref>

==Function==<!--[[Gong siyem]], [[Gong suwukan]], [[Kempur]], & [[Goong ageung]] redirect directly here-->
[[File:Relief at Sukuh Temple, 2016-10-13 02.jpg|thumb|300px|A Gong depicted on the 15th-century temple reliefs at the [[Candi Sukuh]] in [[Central Java]], [[Indonesia]]]]

''Gong ageng'' demarcates the larger phrase structure or ''gongan''. Within the ''gongan'' structure, Between, the ''gong suwukan'' and ''kempul'' punctuate the subdivisions of time. A '''gongan''' is the time span between the ''gong ageng'' strikes, which are subordinate to the [[tempo]]: [[irama]], and length of the structure ([[bentuk]]).<ref>Kunst, Jaap (1949). ''Music in Java: Its history, its theory and its technique, Volume 1'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Nijhoff, 1973. {{ISBN|978-90-247-1519-0}}. 660 pages</ref> the ''gongan'' is the longest time-span in the [[colotomic]] structure of gamelan.<ref>Hood, Mantle (1977). ''The nuclear theme as a determinant of patet in Javanese music'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Da Capo Press. {{ISBN|978-0-306-77419-5}}. 323 pages.</ref><ref>Richard Anderson Sutton (1991). ''Traditions of Gamelan Music in Java: Musical Pluralism and Regional Identity'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-36153-8}}. 291 pages</ref>

In larger [[gendhing]] (compositions), only the ''gong ageng'' is employed. Some gamelan sets for cost considerations will use the gong ageng for both [[pélog]] and [[sléndro]] scale systems. A truly full set in a ''keraton''(palace) will have two ''gong ageng''.

The '''gong suwukan''' or '''gong siyem''' is the smaller gong in the set used for smaller phrases. It is generally pitched higher, and at different pitches for pélog and sléndro. Frequently gamelans will have more than one gong suwukan, for different ending notes, and different [[pathet]].

Most common is a 1 for pathet sanga and lima, and 2 for pélog pathet nem and barang, and sléndro pathet nem and manyura. Usually a 1 can be played for [[gatra (music)|gatra]] ending in 1 or 5, and a 2 for 2 or 6. A few gamelans include a gong suwukan 3 as well.<ref>Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University: ''Indonesian Gamelan: Gong ageng'' http://www.seasite.niu.edu/indonesian/budaya_bangsa/gamelan/javanese_gamelan/gongs/gong_ageng.htm. Access date 24 May 2010.</ref>

The '''goong ageung''' plays a similar role in Sundanese gamelan (e.g. [[degung]]). The '''kempur''' in Balinese gamelan is similar to the ''gong suwukan'' (and not to be confused with the Javanese [[kempul]]). In other Indonesian and Philippine cultures, its analog is the [[agung]].<ref>Dewantara, Karya (1931). ''Sari Swara'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}.</ref>

==Cultural aspects==
[[File:Javanese Gamelan Burning Gong.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Pande (Gamelan Maker) is burning [[Gong]] in Besalen in [[Central Java]], [[Indonesia]]]]

The ''gong ageng'' is central and fundamental to the gamelan orchestra. Similes between the ''gong ageng'' are made in relations to Indonesian, and particularly the Javanese and related Balinese society cultures. A very large (and expensive) gong ageng is often commissioned for prestigious state-sponsored projects. Two famous ones include the Surabaya Naval Dockyard statue (weighing over 2000&nbsp;kg) and in the seaside resort of Ancol in [[Jakarta]] (approximate diameter 3 meters, weight several thousand kilogram). These two former gong ageng can be heard a distance of 20 kilometers out to sea.<ref>Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia, Masyarakat Musikologi Indonesia (1991). ''Seni pertunjukan Indonesia'', {{page needed|date=May 2012}}. Yayasan Masyakarat Musikologi Indonesia and Duta Wacana University Press Yogyakarta.</ref>

On auspicious or important occasions a ''gong ageng'' is often struck, just as in Western society a ribbon may be cut or a champagne bottle smashed (commissioning of a building or ship, launching a project, finalizing a major business deal, and similar occasions).

In the houses of the wealthy, mainly Javanese aristocrat families of [[Jakarta]], ''gong ageng'' are used to herald the arrival of guests. Less important guests are heralded by the [[kempul]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Music|Indonesia}}
* [[Gamelan]]
* [[Kempyang]]
* [[Kempul]]
* [[Bonang]]
* [[Music of Indonesia]]
* [[Music of Java]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Gamelan}}
{{Indonesian musical instruments}}

[[Category:Colotomic instruments]]
[[Category:Gongs]]
[[Category:Indonesian musical instruments]]