Artisan K’Chung tests the sound of a chieng, one of two kinds of Central Highlands gongs, in his house in Lam Dong Province

One of the rare gong tuners left in the Central Highlands, K’Chung holds an important key to the metaphysical world wavelength.

There are two main kinds of gongs. Cong have a nipple-shaped center and produce a single, uniform sound, while chieng are flat and deliver a wider range of notes.

As gongs are a symbol of strength, sacred heritage, and a means of spiritual communication, UNESCO recognizes them as a cultural heritage of the Central Highlands ethnic minorities.

But a chieng that is out of tune not only fails to help the player communicate with their ancestors but also brings bad luck.

K’Glang, a musician from Dam Rong Commune in Lam Dong Province, was upset that one of his chieng was out of tune with the rest of his set.

He eventually sought out the tuning skills of K’Chung and soon he was communicating in tune with the spirits again.

There are only a few chieng tuners left in the Central Highlands and K’Chung, from Lam Ha Commune in Lam Dong Province, is considered the best.

The 57-year-old stills works on the farm but his fervor for chieng runs in his blood like a “spell” that he can never remove.

K’Chung, who inherited his passion for gongs from his father as a child, is in demand by gong players across Lam Dong and neighboring Dak Nong Province.

By age 12, he had learned to play the chieng and khen and performed with his father in many places, proving a natural talent. By 16, he could perform many haunting tunes on the chieng.

He boasts that his skill with the chieng has won him the adoration of village girls and a pretty wife.

By 22, his father had trained him to fine tune the metal percussive instruments.

“Adjusting the sounds of a chieng is a very important task. A chieng has no ‘soul’ after being crafted, so artisans must breathe life into and make it ‘sing’ properly,” said Dinh Ba Quang, chief of the Cultural Heritage Management Section of the Lam Dong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to Quang, a skilled fine-tuning artisan requires immense experience and training from masters. They must also know how to play many chieng tunes and be capable of making musical instruments.

“K’Chung is the one. He is the best chieng fine-tuner in the southern Central Highlands. He not only inherits his passion for folk melodies and training from his father but has traveled far and wide across the ethnic minorities’ territories,” Quang said.

“He has a profound knowledge of musical theory, has memorized many folk tunes and can play and make a range of instruments,” he added.

According to K’Chung, a chieng fine-tuning artisan needs a good ear to discern the musical scales used in different places.

He must also master the use of the six-pipe khen bau (pan-pipe) which is used to tune the set of six chiengs.

To tune the gongs, K’Chung uses simple tools - hammers, knives, iron sheets and files - to set the pitch and length of the notes by changing the shape and thickness of the gong.

The gong tuner expertly adjusts each chieng to control the spread of sound waves across the instrument’s surface to produce the desired sounds.

“I can immediately tell whether a chieng is out of tune or not. Depending on the sound imperfection, I can fix it by shaving around the gong’s circumference or at its center with a knife or by tapping it with a hammer,” K’Chung said.

“Without the right technique, the instrument will be damaged,” he added.

Intriguingly, the artisan grasps the principle of sound vibration and the way it spreads on the chieng surface and in the air without scientific training.

The 57-year-old has imparted his knowledge and skills to local youths for many years but is concerned about who will succeed him.

Although no one knows exactly when the Central Highlands gongs were first made, the “cultural space of gongs” is an integral part of ethnic minority cultures in the region and was recognized as a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005.

Resting on the thigh or hanging from a frame, gongs can be played by striking with the hand or beating with a cloth-covered stick.

As well as providing a metaphysical connection to ancestors and the supernatural world, gongs are a symbol of the wealth of the Central Highlands.

While a range of brass instruments are used in traditional ceremonies, only the gong is present in all rituals of community life such as housewarming, the blessing of the rice, harvest celebrations, mourning rites, and the sacrifice of young bulls and serves as the key ceremonial instrument.

Reported by Gia Binh