# How to write down Gong/Cymbal/Tam Tam



## TheAttidude (Jul 26, 2012)

Hi there!
I do a lot of stuff with the EastWest Symphonic Orchestra-Samples.
But I'm a beginner according to arranging my music.
So, I'm a bit overchallenged because I have to arrange a piece very fast.
Nevertheless it's not the point that I do know nothing about it. It's just the percussion-section.

So, my actual problem is that my EWSO-Samples do include one sample called "All Gongs" and one sample called "All Cymbals". In the manual is only written that this samples contain a big collection of sounds.. So I used them, now I don't know what each sound really is.. ^^

So I don't how to notate it. The good thing is that I didn't use too many different sounds.

Here's a soundfile which contains the different sounds. It would be very helpful if you could tell me which kind of Cymbal/Gong-Sounds they are and how I could notate them. There's only a file with two Tam Tam-Sounds I don't know how to write down.

http://www.mediafire.com/?q8sy58z2tdr2g40

Thanks in advance! Hope you can help me


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## TheWillardofOZ (Jul 26, 2012)

The cymbals you're using that crescendo up are called suspended cymbals. The ones that crash are called crash cymbals.

The only difference in the gongs you have are the size. Like any instrument, small gongs produce a higher sound while larger gongs produce a lower sound.

The Tam-tams are bowed. 

I generally see a "key" at the beginning of the piece that tells what instruments are required in the percussion section and where they show up in the staff. This includes special techniques like brushes/bowes/scrapes/etc. There is a standard for what instrument goes on which line or space, but as long as you have a key it should be fine.


Hope that helps!


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## TheAttidude (Jul 26, 2012)

Thanks!

So, according to the cymbals..

Could it be enough to create one system with just one line and right before the cymbals should be played I write down which cymbal and the length of the note.

Should be possible or am I wrong?

The gongs: Is it the same thing here? One system. Then a written instruction whether small or large?

And Tam-Tams: I just use 2 different Tam-Tam Sounds. But how do I write down this special difference between the two sounds. Is it just a matter of the volume?

Thanks in advance!


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## TheWillardofOZ (Jul 26, 2012)

> Could it be enough to create one system with just one line and right before the cymbals should be played I write down which cymbal and the length of the note.
> 
> The gongs: Is it the same thing here? One system. Then a written instruction whether small or large?



You can have individual staves for each instrument, but it may take up excessive space on your score as opposed to one percussion staff. If the cymbals/gongs/tam-tams you're using take up a lot of space and things are getting cluttered with the other percussion, you may want to do a cymbal staff that only has those three included.

Written instruction is always good if you want something specific. Try to include a key for sure, but I like to write things within the score as well, just so there's no confusion.




> And Tam-Tams: I just use 2 different Tam-Tam Sounds. But how do I write down this special difference between the two sounds. Is it just a matter of the volume?



That can get tricky if you're trying to get the exact sound that your samples have. It really depends on the tam-tam you'll be using, I would imagine. I've never used a bowed cymbal in my compositions, for live instruments anyway, so I may have to defer this to someone with more experience on the subject.


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## synthetic (Jul 26, 2012)

Get the Samuel Adler book on Orchestration with all of the CDs. Shows you how most instruments in the orchestra are played and notated with examples of each.


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## Pietro (Jul 26, 2012)

Cymbals (in order):
- sus. cymb - tremolo crescendo, ended with a hit. If it's supposed to vibrate till it ends naturally, write "l.v." above the last note (or a whole note etc.), otherwise write down where to choke it ("choke"), or specify duration with normal notation (whole note, etc).
- same
- piatti a2, with l.v. (or a whole note etc.)
- piatti a2, choked. Write as short note, with a staccato dot or accent.
- same as first one

Gongs:
- normal hits on 3 different gongs (from smallest to largest). Just write on normal line with description - small/medium/large gong accordingly. Dynamics differ between these, so specify that also in the score.

Tamtam (it is also a type of gong):
- bowed on the rim or rubbed with a friction mallet, like a superball, I'm not 100% sure here. Write "with a bow" or "with a superball". For superball, you can also draw kind of a metal spring shaped horizontal line above the note.

- Piotr


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## TheAttidude (Jul 27, 2012)

Thanks for your answers! 
Helped a lot!


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## robteehan (Jul 27, 2012)

Pietro's advice is spot-on.
One thing I'd mention is that your three gongs all sound pretty big.
To say "small gong" you might get a much higher sound than the sample. 
So I would say "three large gongs of varying size". You can use text to indicate "largest gong", "Smallest gong", "middle sized gong".
Or you could use a three-line staff, so there's no ambiguity.

For your tam-tam sounds, these are just bowed large gongs. So use a whole note with "bowed" written above it. "smallest gong, bowed" gets you the higher pitch.

You should make sure to have a list of required percussion instruments on the inside cover of the score, and at the top-left corner of the percussion part.
i.e. 
Suspended Cymbal
Crash Cymbals
Three Large Gongs of varying size

I also agree on the Samuel Adler orchestration book. I use it all the time.

Feel free to post your notation here if you want critique.


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