found: origins of "ding" and "gu"

[lino]

At least it was news to me:

"ding" is the first note of Balinese gamelan modes.
The other notes are: dong, deng, dung, and dang (hi Tony!)

And 鼓 "gu" is "drum" in Chinese (hi Werner!)

Thank you, Wikipedia!

[wuola]

Hi, the whole concept of ding refers to gamelan... Check for example the Javanese Ketuk (kettle gong):



In Javanese gamelan, there is only one Ketuk in the orchestra, and its role is to punctuate the rhythms, very much like the ding does in Hang.

I think knowing the roots makes playing of these things even more interesting... Even though it might appear at times so, Hang didn't come out of nowhere. It is the outcome of various musical cultures that has come together at the advent of true musical globalism.

[Heavenly3lues]

Funny... I was just explaining this to someone while I was busking the other day about the similarities between the looks of the Gamelan and the ding. Didn't know the names correlated too. Thanks for sharing!

[NickT]

Excellent find - it explains something I was never quite sure about. I assume this means no-one can claim ownership of the terminology?

[aaron_in_sf]

With a nod to the long discussion about 'respect' from a couple months ago, I've endeavored to refrain when discussing the Halo or other handpan from using those terms, and instead less elegant ones like 'center note' and 'port' (especially in any 'official' Pantheon writing).

My motivation is the feeling that like the word 'Hang,' the specific use of 'Ding' and 'Gu' by PANArt with respect to those aspects of a Hang could be construed both as part of their creation -- and also, perhaps, specific to the precise function played by those parts on a Hang, which may not be realized in precisely the same way on say a Halo.

I don't mind the usage of 'Ding' to refer to the center dome on other Handpans in casual discussion, and sometimes lapse myself, but personally find it a faint line worth drawing.

It's nice to know the origin though!

aaron

[Spike]

Rip off... I knew it!!!!!

So they (PanArt) borrowed the words and called them thier own..... Hmmm...
Ironic.. don't ya think...

Tune in next week for the origins of "Sound sculpture"..

[lino]

So they (PanArt) borrowed the words and called them thier own...

I wouldn't go that far Spike. AFAIK they never claimed to have invented these words - people just assumed that. Language is alive; words are happily appropriated for new purposes all the time. If people assume (as I did) that the origin of these words lies on some Swiss alpine meadow with cow bells ringing in the background, that is their projection... not unlike thinking that the airbrush work on Zen Tambours is done by a brown-robed monk in deep meditation!

[paoli]

Just playing devil´s advocate...
it might be argued,following the same line about evolution of the language,that the word hang is by now established as synonimous of circular metal handpan with a bump in the middle

[lino]

Just playing devil´s advocate...
it might be argued,following the same line about evolution of the language,that the word hang is by now established as synonimous of circular metal handpan with a bump in the middle

Indeed - this process goes by the unwieldy name of trademark genericization and, if left unopposed by the owner, can lead to loss of the trademark. Explains why Panart defends their "Hang" trademark so vigorously: genericization (ugh, what a word) clearly has occurred here, so if their trademark is ever challenged in court they'll have to show a record of actively defending it.

PS: The above Wikipedia article has some fascinating examples of words (like "kerosene" and "zipper") which you'd never suspect started their life as trademarks.

[Spike]

..not unlike thinking that the airbrush work on Zen Tambours is done by a brown-robed monk in deep meditation!

Well if you must know.....