CYMBAL

Hand-held cymbals. Click on the audio icon beneath the art to hear the sound of a percussion instrument consisting of a circular flat or concave metal plate that is struck with a drumstick or is used in pairs struck glancingly together. They were used, often ritually, in Assyria, Israel (from c. 1100 BC), Egypt, and other ancient civilizations and reached East Asia in medieval times and Europe before the 13th century. Most Asian cymbals are either broad-rimmed, with or without a dome (boss), held horizontally, and clashed loudly, or small-rimmed (or rimless), held vertically, and played softly. Western orchestral cymbals derive from those used in the Turkish military bands in vogue in 18th-century Europe, and cymbals were introduced in work by Joseph Haydn (notably his Military Symphony, 1794), Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. In Romantic musice.g., Richard Wagner's Tannhuserthey are frequently used to mark a dramatic climax. Traditionally the best cymbals came from Turkeytheir manufacture and copper-tin alloy a guarded family secret. Hi-hat and drumsticks. Click on the audio icon beneath the art to hear the sound of closed and Of indefinite pitch, modern cymbals are about 1418 inches (3646 cm) in diameter, domed at the centre (where the holding strap is attached), and slightly tapered to secure contact at the edges only. They are capable of a wide dynamic range. Though usually clashed or brushed together, they may also be operated with a foot pedal (as in the hi-hat) and may be brushed or struck in the closed or open position, or a single cymbal may be struck with a brush or a hard- or soft-ended drumstick. Other techniques are also used in jazz and dance bands. The ancient cymbals, or crotals (used, for example, by Claude Debussy), are small, castanet-like finger cymbals sounding high notes of definite pitch; they have been used in the Middle East since ancient times, primarily as dancers' instruments.