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In western music, a China cymbal (or Chinese cymbal) is a distinct type of crash cymbal designed to produce a bright, crisp, and explosive tone that has brought it the nickname trash cymbal. [1] The name "China cymbal" comes from its shape, which is similar to that of the Chinese Bo. Such cymbals are most frequently mounted upside down on cymbal stands, allowing for them to be more easily struck and for a better sound.
China-type cymbals are common in various kinds of rock music, particularly heavy metal and thrash metal. They are also frequently used in jazz fusion, Latin music, and Brazilian music, especially in arrangements with elaborate drum solos. In Latin and some other music styles, China cymbals are usually played in conjunction with other percussion instruments instead of a drum kit, such as timbales, octobans, or the surdo. China cymbals may also be used for conventional jazz, often played with mallets or brushes to achieve a softer sound resembling that of a "dark crash" cymbal.
Occasionally these cymbals are featured in orchestral works; examples using a suspended cymbal include Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie and Edgard Varèse's Ionisation .
China type cymbals typically have a bell that is cylindrical or shaped like a truncated cone with its base the top of the bell, an outer rim that is turned up in the reverse direction to the main bow of the cymbal, little or no taper (change in thickness) from bell to rim, and an area including the inside of the bell that is unpolished. However, many china type cymbals have only several or in some cases none of these distinguishing characteristics. The distinguishing feature of a china type cymbal is the one that is hardest to define: its sound. China cymbals are those whose sounds are derived from the Chinese, rather than the Turkish, tradition of cymbal making.
Cymbals are classified into two or three tonal families: Turkish; Chinese; and some would say European, although others would include the European family of tones as a development of the Turkish sounds. The best Turkish (and European) cymbals have a rich, swelling tone that some describe as "sweet". To western ears, the best china types have an abrasive, cutting sound that is described by western drummers as "trashy".
The families do to some extent overlap. Notably, pang and swish cymbals have some characteristics of china types, and some characteristics of traditional Turkish cymbals. On the other hand, the Sabian rocktagon cymbals, and some Ufip models, are considered china types while having none of the physical characteristics of the normal china type, while the Paiste crystal crash is considered a European cymbal despite its squarish bell.
Cymbal making in China is claimed to predate the development of the art anywhere else in the world. The most universally acclaimed cymbal alloy, bell bronze, appears to have been independently developed in China. Today in China a wide range of cymbals are manufactured of both traditional and imported patterns. Traditional Chinese types with distinctive names and sounds include chung, jing, and water cymbals, as well as many other types. In Western music these are all referred to as china type cymbals.
China type cymbals are available in a wide range of sizes from 27 inches (69 cm) down to 0.4 inches (1.0 cm), most types singly but some in pairs. Those of 12 inches (30 cm) or smaller are normally referred to in Western music as china splash cymbals. When used in a drum kit, they are regarded as effects cymbals and are used to give colour and variety.
In a drum kit, china-type cymbals can be mounted either with the bell facing upward (similar to other cymbals) as well as with the bell facing downward. When mounted bell-down, the upturned rim becomes a downturned rim, allowing a normal stick technique to be used for both ride and crash patterns. This assumes that the bell is formed in the typical direction; some china type cymbals (e.g., the Paiste 2002 Novo china) have an inverted bell and an upturned rim, and so must be mounted bell up to achieve this downwards rim orientation.
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Conical (termed "square") bell rough finished on the inside; reversed edge.
Conventional rounded bell, reversed edge. The bell may be or may not be reversed.
The swish and pang are specific sounds within the enormous range of china cymbals, developed as exotic ride cymbals but also used as crashes at higher volumes.
A "China splash" cymbal is typically 12 inches (300 mm) or smaller.
Sabian refers to both their 12-and-14-inch (300 and 360 mm) nova Chinese models as mini Chinese.
The Rocktagon, a Sabian exclusive, is an octagonal cymbal with a sound midway between a crash and a china. The cymbal is manufactured as round and cut to shape after all-over lathing. Available sizes include 16-inch (41 cm), 18-inch (46 cm), and initially 20-inch (51 cm), as well as 8-inch (20 cm) and 10-inch (25 cm) Rocktagon splash.[ citation needed ]
China cymbals are played in various ways, depending on the genre of music.
For example, in modern metal music, players generally tend to play using the shoulder of the stick rather than the tip for a more "trashy" sound. In other genres, such as jazz (which can use less hammered cymbals for a lighter and less distorted effect), the drummer often plays with the tip for more of a "sizzle" sound.[ citation needed ]
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note. Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist.
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks, one in each hand, and uses their feet to operate a foot-controlled hi-hat and bass drum pedal.
A hi-hat is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist of a matching pair of small to medium-sized cymbals mounted on a stand, with the two cymbals facing each other. The bottom cymbal is fixed and the top is mounted on a rod which moves the top cymbal toward the bottom one when the pedal is depressed.
A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to a ride cymbal. It can be mounted on a stand and played with a drum stick, or by hand in pairs. One or two crash cymbals are a standard part of a drum kit. Suspended crash cymbals are also used in bands and orchestras, either played with a drumstick or rolled with a pair of mallets to produce a slower, swelling crash. Sometimes a drummer may hit two different crash cymbals in a kit at the same time to produce a very loud accent, usually in rock music.
The ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. Its function in the kit is to maintain a beat, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than the accent of a crash. It is normally placed on the extreme right of a drum set, above the floor tom.
A gong is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs are a flat, circular metal disc that is typically struck with a mallet. They can be small or large in size, and tuned or can require tuning.
Cymbals are made from four main alloys, all of them copper-based. These are: bell bronze, malleable bronze, brass, and nickel silver.
Modern cymbal making comprises many different techniques, from traditional hand methods to completely automated mass-production.
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.
In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals.
An effects cymbal is a cymbal used in a drum kit for a special effect or accent. Effects cymbals include splash cymbals, china cymbals and many other less common types.
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. The current Zildjian Swish Knocker is a redesign of their original swish, with more rivets, deeper bow and shallower bell, based on a cymbal made famous by Mel Lewis, who coined the name knocker.
Paiste is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is a Finnish and Estonian word that means "shine".
Drum tablature, commonly known as a drum tab, is a form of simplified percussion notation, or tablature for percussion instruments. Instead of the durational notes normally seen on a piece of sheet music, drum tab uses proportional horizontal placement to indicate rhythm and vertical placement on a series of lines to represent which drum from the drum kit to stroke. Drum tabs frequently depict drum patterns.
Rod Morgenstein is an American drummer and music educator. He is best known for his work with the rock bands Winger and Dixie Dregs.
Chad Szeliga is an American drummer from Elyria, Ohio. Formerly the drummer of rock band Breaking Benjamin, he joined Black Label Society in 2013, replacing Mike Froedge. In 2017, Szeliga replaced Jimmy DeGrasso in Black Star Riders, leaving the band in 2021. Szeliga looks up to Vinnie Colaiuta, John Bonham, Steve Gadd, Dennis Chambers, Tony Williams, Manu Katche, Stewart Copeland and Neil Peart as his main influences.
A bell cymbal, bell splash cymbal, or ice bell 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. Some manufacturers list bell cymbals as a type of splash cymbal, others as a distinct type.
Derek Roddy is an American drummer and snake breeder, originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His ability to record entire drum tracks in one or two takes earned him the nickname "One Take".
A cymbal pack is a set of cymbals sold together for use in a drum kit.
As drum kit cymbals go, China cymbals produce a sound that is thin and trashy, earning them the nickname "trash cymbals."