Cymbal

Cymbals (Fr. cymbales; Ger. Becken; Ital. piatti or cinelli), a modern musical instrument of percussion of indefinite musical pitch, whereas the small ancient cup-shaped cymbals sounded a definite note.

Cymbals consist of thin round plates of various cymbal alloys, see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. They are used in orchestras and in contemporary music.

Orchestral cymbals are traditionally used in pairs, each having a handlestrap set in the little knob surmounting the centre of the plate, and these are called clash cymbals. The sound is obtained not by clashing them against each other but by rubbing their edges together by a sliding movement. Sometimes a weird effect is obtained by suspending one of the cymbals by the strap and letting a drummer execute a roll upon it as it swings; or by holding a cymbal in the left hand and striking it with the soft stick of the bass drum, which produces a sound akin to that of the tam-tam[?]. All gradations of piano and forte can be obtained on the cymbals. The composer indicates his intention of letting the cymbals vibrate by "Let them vibrate," and the contrary effect by "Damp the sound." To stop the vibrations the performer presses the cymbals against his chest, as soon as he has played a note. The duration of the vibration is indicated by the value of the note placed upon the staff; the name signifies nothing, since the pitch of the cymbals is indefinite. The instrument is played from the same part of the score as the bass drum, unless otherwise indicated by senza piatti, or piatti soli if the bass drum is to remain silent. Although cymbals are not often required they form part of every orchestra; their chief use is for marking the rhythm and for producing weird, fantastic effects or adding military colour, and their shrill notes hold their own against a full orchestra playing fortissimo. Cymbals are specially suited for suggesting frenzy, fury or bacchanalian revels, as in the Venus music in Wagner?s Tannhäuser and Grieg?s Peer Gynt suite. Damping gives a suggestion of impending evil or tragedy. The timbre of the ancient cymbals 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 out by them is higher in proportion as they are thicker and smaller. Berlioz in. Romeo and Juliet scored for two pairs of cymbals, modelled on some ancient Pompeian instruments no larger than the hand (some are no larger than a crown piece), and tuned to and

The origin of the cymbals must be referred to prehistoric times. The ancient Egyptian cymbals closely resembled our own. The British Museum possesses two pairs, 5 1/8 in. in diameter, one of which was found in the coffin of the mummy of Ankhhape, a sacred musician; they are shown in the same case as the mummy, and have been reproduced by Carl Engel. Those used by the Assyrians were both plate- and cup-shaped. The Greek cymbals were cup or bell-shaped, and are to be seen in the hands of fauns and satyrs innumerable in sculptures and on painted vases. The word cymbal is derived from icbufli1 (Lat. cymba), a hollow vessel, and ,d~u5aAa = small cymbals. During the middle ages the word cymbal was applied to the Glockenspiel, or peal of small bells, and later to the dulcimer, perhaps on account of the clear bell-like tone produced by the hammers striking the wire strings. After the introduction or invention of the keyed dulcimer or clavichord, and of the spinet[?], the word clavicymbal was used in the Romance languages to denote the varieties of spinet and harpsichord. Ancient cymbals are among the instruments played by King David and his musicians in the pthcentury illuminated MS. known as the Bible of Charles the Bald in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. (K. S.)

Particular types of cymbal include:

• Crash cymbal
• Hi-hat cymbal
• Ride cymbal
• Sizzle cymbal[?]
• Splash cymbal[?]
• Suspended cymbal[?]

See also:

• drum
• percussion
• Armand Zildjian
• Avedis Zildjian Company
• Sabian

based on an article from a 1911 encyclopedia