Taper
Encyclopedia
In cymbal making
, taper refers to the gradual change in thickness from the bell to the rim of the cymbal
. It is one of the key features that determines the tone
of the cymbal.
This change is typically not uniform, and it is extremely difficult to generalise on the effects of taper, just to say that they are profound. Crash cymbal
s tend to have the most pronounced taper, with the faster crashes and the richer tones the most pronounced of all. The bell of a paperthin crash or a fast crash can be thicker than that of many ride cymbals. On the other hand, china cymbal
s tend to have little or no taper, as do the heavy to medium weights of splash cymbal
s.
Hi-hat and ride cymbal
s tend to have intermediate taper, with the washier ride cymbals having less than the pingier cymbals, but there are exceptions. A flat ride cymbal may have no taper at all and simply be a machined disk of uniform thickness, but a slight taper is more common.
Cymbal making
Modern cymbal making uses many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.-The traditional process:...
, taper refers to the gradual change in thickness from the bell to the rim of the cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making 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...
. It is one of the key features that determines the tone
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
of the cymbal.
This change is typically not uniform, and it is extremely difficult to generalise on the effects of taper, just to say that they are profound. 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" may have been first used by Zildjian in 1928....
s tend to have the most pronounced taper, with the faster crashes and the richer tones the most pronounced of all. The bell of a paperthin crash or a fast crash can be thicker than that of many ride cymbals. On the other hand, china cymbal
China cymbal
thumb|right|China type cymbals from three continentsIn western music, china type cymbals are cymbals manufactured to produce a dark, crisp, trashy, and explosive tone...
s tend to have little or no taper, as do the heavy to medium weights of splash cymbal
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"...
s.
Hi-hat and ride cymbal
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...
s tend to have intermediate taper, with the washier ride cymbals having less than the pingier cymbals, but there are exceptions. A flat ride cymbal may have no taper at all and simply be a machined disk of uniform thickness, but a slight taper is more common.