Cymbals are a common
percussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see
cymbal makingModern cymbal making uses many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.-The traditional process:...
for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note (see:
crotalesthumb|right|Crotales are often used with other mallet percussionCrotales , sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments 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...
). Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate a crash, ride or crash ride, and a pair of
hi-hatA hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
cymbals.
Etymology
The word cymbal is derived from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
cymbalum, which is the
latinisationLatinisation is the practice of rendering a non-Latin name in a Latin style. It is commonly met with for historical personal names, with toponyms, or for the standard binomial nomenclature of the life sciences. It goes further than Romanisation, which is the writing of a word in the Latin alphabet...
of the
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word κύμβαλον (
kumbalon), "cymbal", which in turn derives from κύμβος (
kumbos), "cup".
Anatomy
The anatomy of the cymbal plays a large part in the sound it creates. The hole is drilled in the center of the cymbal and it is used to either mount the cymbal on a stand or straps (for hand playing). The bell, dome, or cup is the raised section immediately surrounding the hole. The bell produces a higher "pinging"
pitchPitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
than the rest of the cymbal. The bow is the rest of the surface surrounding the bell. The bow is sometimes described in two areas: the ride and crash area. The ride area is the thicker section closer to the bell while the crash area is the thinner tapering section near the edge. The edge or rim is the immediate circumference of the cymbal.
Cymbals are measured by their diameter often in inches or centimeters. The size of the cymbal affects its sound, larger cymbals usually being louder and having longer
sustainIn music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
. The weight describes how thick the cymbal is. Cymbal weights are important to the sound they produce and how they play. Heavier cymbals have a louder volume, more cut, and better stick articulation (when using drum sticks). Thin cymbals have a fuller sound, a lowered pitch, and faster response.
The profile of the cymbal is the vertical distance of the bow from the bottom of the bell to the cymbal edge (higher profile cymbals are more bowl shaped). The profile affects the pitch of the cymbal; Higher profile cymbals have higher pitch.
Orchestral cymbals
Cymbals offer a composer nearly endless amounts of color and effect. Their unique timbre allows them to project even against a full orchestra and through the heaviest of orchestrations and enhance articulation and nearly any dynamic. Cymbals have been utilized historically to suggest frenzy, fury or bacchanalian revels, as seen in the Venus music in
Wagner'sWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
TannhäuserTannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Grieg's
Peer Gynt suite, and Osmin's aria "O wie will ich triumphieren" from Mozart's
Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Clash cymbals
Orchestral clash cymbals are traditionally used in pairs, each one having a strap set in the bell of the cymbal by which they are held. Such a pair is also known as
crash cymbals or plates.
The sound can be obtained by rubbing their edges together in a sliding movement for a "sizzle", striking them against each other in what is called a "clash", tapping the edge of one against the body of the other in what is called a "tap-clash", scraping the edge of one from the inside of the bell to the edge for a "scrape" or "zischen," or shutting the cymbals together and choking the sound in what is called a "hi-hat chick" or crush. A skilled player can obtain an enormous dynamic range from such a pair of cymbals. For example, in Beethoven's ninth symphony, the percussionist is employed to first play cymbals at pianissimo, adding a touch of colour rather than loud clash.
Clash cymbals are usually
dampedIn physics, damping is any effect that tends to reduce the amplitude of oscillations in an oscillatory system, particularly the harmonic oscillator.In mechanics, friction is one such damping effect...
by pressing them against the player's body. A composer may write
laissez vibrer, "Let vibrate" (usually abbreviated l.v.),
secco (dry), or equivalent indications on the score; more usually, the player must judge exactly when to damp the cymbals based on the written duration of clash and the context in which it occurs.
Clash cymbals have traditionally been accompanied by the
bass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
playing an identical
part1) A part is a strand or melody of music played by an individual instrument or voice within a larger work. Parts may be referred to as an outer part or an inner part . Part-writing is the composition of parts in consideration of harmony and counterpoint...
. This combination, played loudly, is an effective way to accentuate a note since the two instruments together contribute to both very low and very high frequency ranges and provide a satisfying "clash-bang-wallop". In older music the composer sometimes provided just one part for this pair of instruments, writing
senza piatti or
piatti soli (
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: "without cymbals" or "cymbals only") if the bass drum is to remain silent. This came from the common practice of only having one percussionist play both instruments, using one cymbal mounted to the shell of the bass drum itself. The player would clash the cymbals with his left hand and use a mallet to strike the bass drum in his right. This method is often employed today in pit orchestras and is called for specifically by composers who desire a certain effect. Stravinsky calls for this in his ballet Petrushka and Mahler calls for this in his Titan Symphony. However, the modern convention is for the instruments to have independent parts.
Clash cymbals evolved into the low-sock and from this to the modern
hi-hatA hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
. Even in a modern drum kit, they remain paired with the bass drum as the two instruments which are played with the player's feet. However, hi-hat cymbals tend to be heavy with little taper, more similar to a
ride cymbalThe ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. It maintains a steady rhythmic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than the accent of a crash...
than to a clash cymbal as found in a drum kit, and perform a ride rather than a clash function.
Suspended cymbal
Another use of cymbals is the
suspended cymbalright|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. A common abbreviation used is sus. cym., or sus. cymb. .-History:...
. This instrument takes its name from the traditional method of suspending the cymbal by means of a leather strap or rope, thus allowing the cymbal to vibrate as freely as possible for maximum musical effect. Early jazz drumming pioneers borrowed this style of cymbal mounting during the early 1900s and later drummers further developed this instrument in to the mounted horizontal or nearly horizontally mounted "crash" cymbals of a modern
drum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, However, most modern drum kits do not employ a leather strap suspension system. Many modern drum kits use a mount with felt or otherwise dampening fabric to act as a barrier to hold the cymbals between metal clamps: thus forming the modern day ride cymbal.
Suspended cymbals can be played with yarn, sponge or cord wrapped mallets. The first known instance of using a sponge-headed mallet on a cymbal is the final chord of Hector Berlioz'
Symphonie FantastiqueSymphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties , Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences...
. Composers sometimes specifically request other types of mallets like felt mallets or
timpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
beaters for different attack and sustain qualities.
Suspended cymbals can produce bright and slicing tones when forcefully struck, and give an eerie transparent "windy" sound when played quietly. A tremolo, or roll (played with two mallets alternately striking on opposing sides of the cymbal) can build in volume from almost inaudible to an overwhelming climax in a satisfyingly smooth manner (as in Humperdink's Mother Goose Suite).
The edge of a suspended cymbal may be hit with shoulder of a
drum stickA percussion mallet is an object used to beat drums and other percussion instruments. Some specialized mallets are called beaters, drumsticks.Note: See Rute .-Drum sticks:...
to obtain a sound somewhat akin to that of a pair of clash cymbals. Other methods of playing include scraping a coin or a
triangleThe triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
beater rapidly across the ridges on the top of the cymbal, giving a "zing" sound (as in the fourth movement of Dvořák's Symphony No. 9). Other effects that can be used include drawing a cello or bass bow across the edge of the cymbal for a sound not unlike squealing car brakes.
Ancient cymbals
Ancient cymbals or tuned cymbals are much more rarely called for. Their timbre is entirely different, more like that of small hand-bells or of the notes of the keyed harmonica. They are not struck full against each other, but by one of their edges, and the note given in by them is higher in proportion as they are thicker and smaller. Berlioz's
Romeo and Juliet calls for two pairs of cymbals, modelled on some old Pompeian instruments no larger than the hand (some are no larger than a crown piece), and tuned to F and B flat. The modern instruments descended from this line are the crotales.
List of Cymbal Types
- Bell cymbal
A bell cymbal or bell splash cymbal is a small, very thick cymbal with little if any taper, used as an effects cymbal in a drum kit. The sound produced when striking the bell cymbal with a drumstick is a distinctive high-pitched ping sound with a long sustain...
- China cymbal (Trash)
- Clash cymbal
- Crash cymbal
A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to in ostinato. The term "crash" may have been first used by Zildjian in 1928....
- Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
- Ride cymbal
The ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. It maintains a steady rhythmic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than the accent of a crash...
- Sizzle cymbal
A sizzle cymbal is a cymbal to which rivets, chains or other rattles have been added to modify the sound, attached either by means of holes bored in the cymbal or by means of an attachment known as a sizzler....
- Splash cymbal
In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals.The most common sized splash has a diameter of 10", followed by 8"...
- Swish cymbal
The swish cymbal and the pang cymbal are exotic ride cymbals originally developed and named as part of the collaboration between Gene Krupa and the Avedis Zildjian Company...
- Finger cymbal
- Taal or Manjira
The manjïrà is a traditional percussion instrument of Bhàrata India. In its simplest form it is a pair of small hand cymbals. It is also known as manjeera, tala, jalra, khartàl or kartàl....
(clash cymbal)
See also
- :Category:Cymbals
- Cymbal alloys
Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass and nickel silver.-Bell bronze:Bell bronze, also known as bell metal, is the traditional alloy used for fine cymbals, many gongs and, as the name suggests, bells.It is normally stated...
- Cymbal making
Modern cymbal making uses many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.-The traditional process:...
- Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
- Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Zill
Manufacturers
- Fandy's Cymbal
- Aegean Cymbals
- Alchemy/Istanbul
- Amedia
- Anatolian
- Avedis Zildjian Company
The Avedis Zildjian Company is a cymbal manufacturer founded in Istanbul by Armenian Avedis Zildjian in the 17th century during the Ottoman Empire. At nearly 400 years old, Zildjian is one of the oldest companies in the world...
- Bosphorus Cymbals
Bosphorus is a cymbal manufacturer based in İstanbul, Turkey and Kennesaw, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta in the United States. The foundry is located near the Bosphorus Strait, from which the company draws its name. It is owned by three master cymbalsmiths, Ibrahim Yakici, Hasan Seker, and Hasan...
- Diril Cymbals
- Istanbul cymbals
Istanbul is the name of two brands of cymbals, Istanbul Agop and Istanbul Mehmet, made in Istanbul using traditional cymbal making methods...
- Istanbul Mehmet http://www.istanbulmehmet.com
- Istanbul Agop http://www.istanbulcymbals.com/
- Italian Bellotti Cymbals
- Masterworks
- Meinl
Roland Meinl Percussion is a leading manufacturer of cymbals and other percussion instruments, based in Gutenstetten, Germany. Their main brand is Meinl.Founded in 1951 by Roland Meinl...
- Murat Diril Cymbals
- Orion Cymbals
- Ozimar
- Paiste
Paiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...
- Sabian
Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is a leading manufacturer of cymbals along with other top companies such as Zildjian, Paiste, and Meinl.-History:...
- Soultone Cymbals http://www.soultonecymbals.com
- Stagg
Stagg music is a Belgian musical instrument manufacturer. They produce a wide range of musical instruments, including guitars, bass guitars, drums, percussion, cymbals and brass instruments as well as pro audio equipment.Cymbal Range...
- Supernaturals Foundry www.supernaturalcymbals.com
- Saluda Cymbals
- Turkish Cymbals http://www.turkishcymbals.com
- Turk Masters Cymbals
- UFIP
- Wuhan
- Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
- LP
Latin Percussion, also known as LP, is a brand of percussion instruments, specializing in ethnic instruments engineered and manufactured to withstand the rigors of use in a drum kit, orchestral percussion section, and similar applications...
- See also :Category:Cymbal manufacturing companies.
External links