Kids and Gongs, Oh Yes!

During my gong trainings, one of the more frequent questions is: “Is it okay to play the Gong for children?”

My answer is, “Yes, but it’s better for children to play the Gong for you.”

And here is why.

*Video from my Las Vegas Gong Training*

In my book Gong Yoga, I shared that Anne Kathrin Nickel and her associate researchers published an article in Music Therapy Today (September 2003) that confirmed that the gong proved helpful in treating children with migraine headaches. Dorita S. Berger in her book Music Therapy, Sensory Integration and the Autistic Child (2002), recounts that no musical instrument seemed to have an effect on her four-year old autistic patient until he heard the gong.

An elementary school music teacher once told me that the Gong was a great way to get the children to “chill out” and focus before she started her classes.

But the real benefits for children occur when they are allowed to play the Gong.

Dr. Dean Telano offers a workshop for children and parents called the “Joy of Gong and Sound Resonance” at his holistic center in North Carolina. He said that the training approach they used was to teach children to play different types of gongs. “A multicultural Gong ensemble can add depth, dimension, healing and lots of fun when learning how to play the Gong.”

Since gong playing is relatively easy to learn, children can quickly gain a sense of confidence, and because is based on tonal qualities unlike other musical instruments, it is much easier for children to be creative in their playing and self-discovery.

Dr, Telano also observed that gong playing was especially effective team-building and developing social skills when children played the gongs together.

In the eastern world, children play gongs during community celebrations and religious holidays. One of my gong playing friends captured the hearts of the children in the villages of Bhutan when she shared her gong playing with them (as well as the village monks!).

One of my youngest students came from Mexico with his parents to my gong workshops in Chile. Mother, father, and child were all playing the same gong at the same time.