With master Wayne Marto
Learn to play the Gong in one four-hour lesson with Gong Master Wayne Marto!
The Gong is one of the oldest instruments on earth and is perhaps the easiest to learn how to play. In a very short period of time, you can add a deeply rewarding addition to your personal meditation practice or to your Yoga or sound healing classes.
This is a beginner's class. No prior experience is necessary. Limited to 12 students – two per Gong and
includes a 30-page syllabus.
Topics Include:
❖ The Story of the Gong
❖ Types of Gongs
➢ Planetary Gongs in depth
❖ Preparing yourself to Play
➢ Grounding, breathing, relaxing
➢ Awareness of space, soundscape, participants
➢ Setting your Intention
❖ Approaching the Gong and getting centered
➢ Position
▪ Standing, sitting kneeling
▪ Distance and body mechanics
❖ Types of mallets
➢ Matching mallets to gongs
➢ Friction mallet techniques
❖ Striking the Gong
➢ Grip
➢ Holding the mallet
❖ Area
➢ Why is area important?
➢ Sweet spot and fundamental tone
➢ Previously discovered gong maps
➢ Using patterns for discovery
▪ Around the clock
▪ Diagonals
▪ Upward/Downward stroke
❖ Rhythm
➢ Why is rhythm important?
➢ Effects of tempo on the participant’s experience
➢ Keeping Time techniques and exercises
➢ Breath Playing Exercise
❖ Volume
➢ Why is volume important?
➢ Effects of volume on the participants’ experience
➢ Volume Control Techniques (firmness, repeating, muffling, natural fade)
➢ Build and Release Cycles
➢ Surprise
➢ Silence
❖ Basic Playing Techniques
➢ Finessing force, connection, and bounce
➢ Single mallet techniques
➢ Double Mallet techniques
❖ Combinations
➢ Area, Rhythm, and Volume
❖ Putting together a Session
➢ Beginning the session
➢ Creating Sequences
➢ Transitions between sequences
➢ Layering
❖ Closing the session
❖ Exercises
➢ Discover your gong with a mapping exercise
➢ Around the clock
➢ Diagonals
➢ Build and Release
➢ 2-minute solo
Wayne is a life-long musician who has studied the gong extensively under Gong Master Mehtab Benton.
His authentic style of playing, infused with passion and intention, promotes deep relaxation and
transformation. Wayne is the Founder-Director of Beneficial Sound, a 501(c)3 public charity committed
to bringing wellness to the mind, body and soul through sound and vibration. He has a degree in
Psychology, is a Certified Gong Practitioner and Yoga Instructor and is a member of the American Sound
Healers Association.