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Ride cymbal

 
Ride Cymbal

 
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Ride cymbal
 
 
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A ride cymbal is a type of cymbal
Cymbal

Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture....
 that is a standard part of most drum kit
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
s. Its function is to maintain a steady rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
ic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than to provide accents
Accent (music)

In music, an accent is an emphasis placed on a particular note , either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark....
 as with, for example, the crash 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 was created by Zildjian when such cymbals were introduced by Avedis Zildjian III in around 1928....
. A drummer will normally place the main ride cymbal near their dominant hand. The most basic ride pattern in rock and other styles is:

In rock and popular music another percussion instrument such as a shaker
Shaker (percussion)

The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them?moving them back and forth rather than striking them....
 or maraca
Maraca

Maracas is a native instrument of Puerto Rico. They are simple percussion instruments , usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans....
 may be substituted for the cymbal in a ride pattern, especially in quieter styles such as soft-ballads or bossa-nova.

rding to most drummers, the term ride means to ride with the music as it sustains after it is struck.






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A ride cymbal is a type of cymbal
Cymbal

Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture....
 that is a standard part of most drum kit
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
s. Its function is to maintain a steady rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
ic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than to provide accents
Accent (music)

In music, an accent is an emphasis placed on a particular note , either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark....
 as with, for example, the crash 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 was created by Zildjian when such cymbals were introduced by Avedis Zildjian III in around 1928....
. A drummer will normally place the main ride cymbal near their dominant hand. The most basic ride pattern in rock and other styles is:

In rock and popular music another percussion instrument such as a shaker
Shaker (percussion)

The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them?moving them back and forth rather than striking them....
 or maraca
Maraca

Maracas is a native instrument of Puerto Rico. They are simple percussion instruments , usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans....
 may be substituted for the cymbal in a ride pattern, especially in quieter styles such as soft-ballads or bossa-nova.

Terminology

According to most drummers, the term ride means to ride with the music as it sustains after it is struck. However, it can apply to either the function of the cymbal in the kit or to the characteristics of the cymbal itself. Most cymbal makers designate some of their cymbals as ride cymbals indicating they are designed primarily for this purpose. However, they can be altered to suit different purposes or requirements that the drummer may see necessary for what they are using the cymbal for.

Some drummers use a china cymbal
China cymbal

In western music, china type cymbals are cymbals manufactured to produce a dark, crisp, trashy, and explosive tone. Their origins can be traced back to the gong in both sound and shape, and thus they are given their name 'china'....
, a sizzle cymbal
Sizzle cymbal

A sizzle cymbal is a cymbal to which rivets, chains or other rattles have been added to modify the sound.These rattles have two main effects on the tone of the cymbal:...
 or a specialised tone such as a swish
Swish cymbal

The swish cymbal and the pang cymbal are exotic ride cymbals originally developed as part of the collaboration between Gene Krupa and the Avedis Zildjian Company....
 or pang cymbal as a ride cymbal. When playing extremely softly, when using brushes
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....
, and when recording, even a paperthin crash may serve well as a ride cymbal.

On the other extreme, when playing extremely loudly a cymbal designed as a ride may serve well as a very loud, long crash. Some of Keith Moon
Keith Moon

Keith John Moon was the drummer of the rock group The Who. He gained notoriety for exuberant drumming and his destructive lifestyle. Moon joined The Who in 1964, replacing Doug Sandom....
's kits had only ride cymbals, with all but the largest of these serving as crashes.

The Crash/Ride Cymbal

Some cymbals are designated crash/ride or more rarely ride/crash to indicate that they are designed to serve either function, and perhaps which function is more likely. Such a cymbal will typically serve as both a large slow crash and a secondary ride, or it may be reserved for one purpose or the other in a particular playing situation.

Sound of ride cymbals


When struck, a ride cymbal makes a sustained, shimmering sound rather than the shorter, decaying sound of a crash 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 was created by Zildjian when such cymbals were introduced by Avedis Zildjian III in around 1928....
. The most common diameter for a ride cymbal is about 20", but anything from 18" to 22" is standard. Smaller and thinner cymbals tend to be brighter with more shimmer, while larger and thicker cymbals tend to respond better in louder volume situations, and conversely. Rides of up to 26" and down to 16" are readily available, and down to 8" are currently manufactured. The very thickest and loudest tend to be about 22", with larger rides restricted to medium and medium thin thicknesses.

In rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 or jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, the ride cymbal is most often struck regularly in a rhythmic pattern as part of the accompaniment to the song. Often the drummer will vary between the same pattern either on the hi-hat cymbal or the ride cymbal, playing for example the hi-hat in the verses and the ride in the instrumentals and/or choruses.

The sound of a ride cymbal also varies depending on what kind of mallet
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....
 is used to hit it with. In rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 and metal, wood and nylon-tipped drum sticks are common; wood creates a smoother, quieter sound, whereas nylon tips create more of a "ping," and a sharper bell tone. Brushes
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....
, used commonly in variations of jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, make the ride cymbal more felt than heard, as it creates a low vibration to keep a steady beat, but a low sound volume.

Sources