tamtams
Tam-tams are a type of percussion instrument in the gong family, commonly used in Western orchestras and many contemporary music settings. They are large, circular metal discs that are typically suspended and struck with mallets. The sound produced is a resonant, metallic wash with an indefinite pitch, valued more for timbre and duration than for a defined note. The name tam-tam is an onomatopoeic reference to the instrument’s sound and is often used in English-language orchestral terminology.
Construction and technique vary, but tam-tams are usually made of bronze or brass and can range widely
Historical and cultural notes indicate that the tam-tam name entered Western percussion vocabulary in the 19th
Related instruments include other gongs in the broad gong family; the tam-tam is distinguished in many contexts