Percussion instruments, normally of indefinite pitch. The modern orchestral cymbals are a pair of large round plates of metal (an alloy of c 80% copper and 20% tin), the exact constituents and processing of which are the makers secrets. Diameters range from 30 to 65 cm (the cymbals of antiquity were much smaller). For orchestral purposes, cymbals of 40 - 50 cm are used, the desired tonal qualities being brilliance, resonance and a multiplicity of overtones.
Orchestral cymbals are ‘paired’ with a slight difference in pitch. Each plate is slightly convex to ensure that only the outer edges meet; in the centre is a shallow, saucer-like recess forming a dome, with a hole through which the holding strap passes (for illustration, see Percussion instruments). They are held vertically and clashed with a swift up-and-down movement; a sharper sound is obtained by striking a suspended cymbal with a hard drumstick.
Cymbals may have originated in Central Asia, from where they entered China. They were played in many ancient societies including Hittite Anatolia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Cymbals from Pompeii range from small crotales to instruments 41 cm in diameter. Greek and Roman types appear in representations from the Middle Ages. They were prominent in Viennese janissary music of the late 18th century; Mozart (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Haydn (‘Military’ Symphony) and Beethoven (Ninth Symphony) all used them. From the early 19th century they often appear in orchestral works; Berlioz scored for ten cymbals in his Grande messe des morts (1837). 20th-century composers have called for unusual effects, including Schoenberg who asked for a sustained note to be played by drawing a cello bow over a cymbal edge (Five Orchestral Pieces, 1909).
In jazz a variety of cymbals and cymbal effects are used, including the hi-hat pedal-operated cymbals and suspended cymbals: ‘crash’ (or ‘splash’), ‘ride’, ‘bounce’ and ‘sizzle’.
