About this program
Shaping Sound – The Art of Gong Music
5-Day Workshop with Mike Tamburo — April 14-18, 2027 at Soundtopia
For all levels of players
Shaping Sound is a course for people who want to move beyond simply striking the gong, toward thoughtful ways of playing it and into making gong music. We begin by reframing the skillset and its variables: the core practices of touch, tone, dynamics and listening that underlie all of the work. We refine them until they become second nature.
From there, we turn to the elements that give music its shape: transitions, structure, form, pacing and the space between sounds. We look at how a piece opens, develops and resolves, and how moving gracefully from one sound world to the next can matter as much as the sounds themselves.
Participants then learn and practice a number of my short compositions, exploring how structure, timing and intention shape what the gong can say.
Working through these pieces gives a direct way to understand how gong music can be built, held and carried through time.
Alongside the written compositions, the group enters guided improvisational experiences, learning to listen as an ensemble, respond in real time and let the music emerge collectively. In the final stage, we split into bands and ensembles to compose original pieces, drawing on everything explored over the course.
This course is for players who are ready to treat the gong as a transformational musical instrument, and to discover their own voice within a shared sound.
Tuition: $1,444 if paid by December 1, 2026, then $1,555.
$500 Deposit option: Reserve your spot with a $500 deposit. The remaining balance is due by February 14, 2027.
The Skillset
- Touch: striking, rubbing and dampening with the mallet, and how attack shapes the sound
- Tone: drawing out the gong’s fundamentals, overtones and colors
- Dynamics: moving through the full range from whisper to roar with control
- Listening: hearing the gong, the room and the other players as one field
- Transitions: moving smoothly between textures, intensities and sound worlds
- Structure and form: how a piece opens, develops, peaks and resolves
- Timing and pacing: rhythm, pulse and the use of silence and space
- Intention: playing with purpose and awareness of the effect on the listener
What You Will Gain
- A refined, dependable skillset you can bring to any gong
- A working understanding of how gong music is structured and shaped over time
- Hands-on experience learning and performing a set of my compositions
- Confidence in improvising, both alone and within an ensemble
- Experience composing original work collaboratively as part of a band
- Tools for listening and responding in real time with other players
- A clearer sense of your own musical voice on the gong
- Practices to take home and keep developing after the course
Schedule
Days 1-2
- 9:30am - 12:30pm: Session 1
- 12:30pm - 2:00pm: Lunch
- 2:00pm - 6:00pm: Session 2
- 6:00pm - 7:30pm: Dinner
- 7:30pm - 9:00pm: Session 3
Days 3-5
- 9:30am - 12:30pm: Session 1
- 12:30pm - 2:00pm: Lunch
- 2:00pm - 6:00pm: Session 2
What’s Included
Lunch is provided on all class days, and dinner on Days 1 and 2. We serve healthy food and cater to all dietary needs.
Each student receives a Certificate of Completion.
About Mike Tamburo
Mike Tamburo is a world-renowned musician, composer, artist, and educator known for his transformational live concerts performed on a personally curated set of gongs, bells, hammered dulcimer and other metal instruments.
A lifelong multi-instrumentalist, Tamburo has focused his talents on metal percussion, string instruments (hammered dulcimer, guitar, zither, shahi baaja), and electronic instruments (synths, looping). Since 1994, he has shared over 2,500 concerts and workshops and released more than 70 albums—solo and with Crown of Eternity, Meisha, Arco Flute Foundation, Psychic Frost, Brother Ong, and others. His work spans gong music, ecstatic string music, folk, drone, ambient, mantra, and experimental sounds.
He is also a gong teacher, an interdisciplinary sound artist, instrument builder, video artist, sound therapist, writer, and meditation teacher.
www.miketamburomusic.com
Instagram: @mike_tamburo