Sound The Cymbals

Cymbals are as common in classical music as they are at home in rock, jazz, R&B, Latin, Balkan gypsy and, just about every other form of music on the planet.

Cymbals are common members of the concussion family where pairs of similar objects are clashed together to make sound. Imagine their absence in the lives of jazz drummers like Buddy Rich, Arthur Taylor, Jack DeJohnette, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes and Gene Krupa.

German composer Nicolaus Strungk is believe to be the first to use them in an opera in 1680. Composers including Mozart, Haydn, Berlioz employed them as well.

Where the first cymbals were fashioned is up for grabs among ethnomusicologists. Though we generally agree that they are very old, dating back 3,000 B.C. and crafted when bronze metal came about. What is intriguing is that they haven’t change all that much despite the lingering debate over the region of their origin be it Tibet, India, Turkey or China.

All agree that they have a long history in Asia, the Middle East and Europe (Ex. Bacchante Playing The Cymbals by Jean-Simon Berthélemy, 18th century artist depicts they playing of cymbals by a reclined-unclothed woman; viewer discretion advised).

The size of cymbals, generally round in shape, vary greatly and can be clashed together, brushed together vertically or struck with mallets or drum sticks.

You find them in the music of ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans with names as diverse as their size. The zilia massa cymbal for example, survives today in present day Greece and Turkey. In Bali they are mounted on a stand. Chinese cymbals represent the most common form. Castanets as use by flamenco dancers and finger cymbals are in this school as well.

Historically used in military progressions, sacred and social gatherings, rituals and traditional ceremonies all around the globe, cymbals largely unchanged by time, hold a particularly important place in the world of music.

–Jonathan