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Crotales (pronounced "kro-tah'-les"), sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instrument
Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
s consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard mallets
Drum stick

A mallet or drum stick is an object used to strike drums and other percussion_instrument to produce sound. Some specialized mallets are called beaters, drumsticks, or brushes....
.






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Crotales1
Crotales (pronounced "kro-tah'-les"), sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instrument
Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
s consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard mallets
Drum stick

A mallet or drum stick is an object used to strike drums and other percussion_instrument to produce sound. Some specialized mallets are called beaters, drumsticks, or brushes....
. However, they may also be played by striking two disks together in the same manner as finger cymbals, or by bowing. Their sound is rather like a small tuned bell
Bell (instrument)

A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually an open-ended hollow drum which resonates upon being struck....
, only with a much brighter sound, and a much longer resonance.

Modern crotales are arranged chromatic
Chromatic scale

The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve Pitch es, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a diatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step interval ," having, "no tonic ," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
ally and have a range of up to two octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
s. They are typically available in sets (commonly one octave), but may also be purchased individually. Crotales are treated as transposing instrument
Transposing instrument

A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which written notes are read at a pitch different from Pitch #Concert pitch, which a non-transposing instrument, such as a piano, would play....
s; music for crotales is written two octaves lower than the sounding pitch.

One of the earliest uses of crotales in the orchestral repertoire is Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy

Achille-Claude Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he is considered one of the most prominent figures working within the field of Impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions....
's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a musical composition for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was first performed in Paris on December 22, 1894, conducted by Gustave Doret....
. The chamber music composition From Me Flows What You Call Time by Toru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu

was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Though largely self-taught, Takemitsu is recognised for his skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre, drawing from a wide range of influences, including jazz, popular music, avant-garde procedures and traditional Japanese music, in a harmonic idiom la...
 features crotales in a prominent role. In Joseph Schwantner
Joseph Schwantner

Joseph Schwantner is a Pulitzer Prize for Music United States composer and educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters....
's ...and the mountains rising nowhere the composer calls for the instrument to be bowed with a double bass bow, producing an eerie, sustained glass harmonica
Glass harmonica

The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, hydrocrystalophone, or simply armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical pitch s by means of friction ....
-like effect.

In Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, considered by many to be the most influential composer of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially Cosmopolitanism Russian who was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the century....
's The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring, commonly referred to by its original French language title, Le Sacre du Printemps is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, original choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, and original set design and costumes by archaeologist and painter Nicholas Roerich, all under impresario Serge Diaghilev....
, the score calls for two crotales in A-flat and B-flat. Stravinsky's Les Noces
Les Noces

Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with Singers....
 ends on a plaintive series of chords struck by a combination of chimes and crotales.

Crotales are also found in prehistory. The National Museum of Ireland has several examples on display dating from the late Bronze Age (1200-800BC) which were found in a hoard alongside various brass wind instruments.

Use in popular music

  • In the Rush
    Rush (band)

    Rush is a Canadian Rock music band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale, Toronto neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently composed of bass guitar, keyboard instrument, and singer Geddy Lee; electric guitar Alex Lifeson; and drum kit and lyricist Neil Peart....
     song "YYZ
    YYZ (song)

    "YYZ" is an instrumental rock piece by Canadian rock band Rush , from the 1981 album Moving Pictures .Following its initial release, it became one of the band's most popular pieces and has been a staple of the band's live performances....
    ", drummer
    Drummer

    A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
     Neil Peart
    Neil Peart

    Neil Peart Order of Canada, is a Canadian musician and author. He is best-known as the drummer and lyricist for the rock music band Rush .Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada working the occasional odd job....
     uses crotales in the beginning of the song.


  • In the Yes
    Yes (band)

    Yes are an England progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968 in music. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess....
     song "Awaken
    Awaken (song)

    Awaken is a song by the British progressive rock band Yes released on their acclaimed 1977 in music album Going for the One. At 15 minutes and 31 seconds it is the longest track on the album, occupying most of the second side of the LP album....
    ", Alan White
    Alan White (Yes drummer)

    Alan White is an England rock and roll drummer best known for his 34 years of work with the progressive rock band Yes . In all, White has appeared on over fifty albums with artists from John Lennon and George Harrison to Joe Cocker, Ginger Baker and The Ventures....
     uses crotales during the harp and church organ section in the middle of the song. During the 9012-Live tour and subsequent tours, White uses them to play the intro to "Changes".


  • In the Dream Theater
    Dream Theater

    Dream Theater is an United States progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Myung, John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, before they dropped out to support the band....
     song "A Change of Seasons
    A Change of Seasons (song)

    "A Change of Seasons" is the first track from the EP A Change of Seasons by United States progressive metal rock band Dream Theater. It is a metal suite with lyrics written by drummer Mike Portnoy and is the band's fourth longest song, behind "Octavarium " , "In the Presence of Enemies" , and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence " ...
    ", Mike Portnoy
    Mike Portnoy

    Michael Stephen Portnoy United States of America drummer primarily known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater....
     uses crotales in a break in the song (around 2:06) as well the beginning of the song "New Millennium".


  • Drummer Glenn Kotche
    Glenn Kotche

    Glenn Kotche is an USA drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
     of Wilco
    Wilco

    Wilco is an American Rock music band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure....
     makes frequent use of crotales on several recordings and incorporates the instrument into his drum set.


  • Drummer Stewart Copeland
    Stewart Copeland

    Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the musical band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks....
     of The Police
    The Police

    The Police were an English Power trio Rock music band consisting of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland . The band became globally popular in the late 1970s, playing a style of rock that was influenced by jazz, punk rock and reggae music....
     uses crotales within the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger".


  • On the Grateful Dead
    Grateful Dead

    The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of Rock music, Folk music, bluegrass music, blues, reggae, country music, jazz, Psychedelic rock, space rock and gospel music?and for live performances of long musical improvisati...
     album Anthem of the Sun
    Anthem of the Sun

    Anthem of the Sun is the second studio album by the Grateful Dead, released in 1968. It is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967....
    , they are used frequently.


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