History Of Cymbals Musical Instrument In English

History Of Cymbals Musical Instrument

• Cymbals are solid instruments made of metal and cloth. It is a folk instrument found in Sikkim.
• Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys.
• Most cymbals are of indeterminate pitch, although smaller disc-shaped cymbals based on older designs produce a fixed pitch (such as crotales).
• Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from orchestras, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands and marching groups.
• A drum kit usually includes at least one crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A cymbal player is known as a cymbalist.

Origin And Name

• The word cymbal is derived from the Latin cymbalum, a Latinization of the Greek κύμβαλον kymbalon, “cymbalon”, which in turn derives from κύμβη kymbē, “cup, bowl”
• In orchestral scores, cymbals may be indicated by French cymbals; German bacon, schelbaken, taylor, or schnitzelen; Italian Piatti or Cinelli; and Spanish Platillos. Many of these are derived from the word plate.

History

• Detail of a Roman mosaic of a street scene with musicians from the Villa del Cicero in Pompeii. Instruments include aulos, zils, and a frame drum. Cymbals have existed since ancient times.
• Representations of cymbals can be found in reliefs and paintings from the Armenian Highlands, Larsa, Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
• References to cymbals also appear throughout the Bible, through many hymns and songs of praise to God. Cymbals may have been brought to China from Central Asia in the 3rd or 4th century AD.

India

• In India, cymbals have been used since ancient times and are still used in almost all major temples and Buddhist sites.
• The huge aarti on the banks of the Ganges, revered by Hindus across the world, is incomplete without large cymbals.

Central Asia and Iran

• Mesopotamian cymbals from the 3rd millennium BC show that the large cymbal dates back to antiquity. The Shahnameh (circa 977 and 1010 CE) mentions the use of cymbals at least 14 times in its text, most commonly in the context of creating a loud din in battle, to intimidate or celebrate an enemy.

Ashura Ceremony

• Apart from the original use in warfare, another use in Persian culture was the Ashura ceremony. Originally in the ceremony, two pieces of stone were carried on the sides of the mourner with special movements accompanied by lamentation.
• It has been replaced by beating karabzani or karebzani and playing saanj and shaft. Cities where it has been performed include Lahijan and Aran in Kashan, as well as Semnan and Sabzevar.

Turkey

• Miniature from Sarnem-e Webbi (Fol. 172a), showing cymbals being used by a Turkish army in a military setting. Descriptions of this type of use date back to the Shahnameh, around 977–1010 A.D.
• Cymbals were used by Turkish Janissaries in the 14th century or earlier.
• By the 17th century, such cymbals were used in European music, and by the mid-18th century were commonly played in military bands and orchestras.
• Since the 19th century, some composers have sought larger roles for cymbals in musical works, and a variety of cymbal shapes, techniques, and hardware have been developed in response.

Body structure

• The anatomy of a cymbal plays a big part in the sound it produces. A hole is drilled in the center of the cymbal, which is used either to mount the cymbal on a stand or (for hand-playing) to fasten the straps.

• The bell, dome, or cup is the raised section around the hole. The bell produces a higher “pinging” pitch than the rest of the cymbals. The bow is the remaining surface around the bell.
• The bow is sometimes described as having two areas: the ride and crash areas. The ride area is the thicker section closer to the bell while the crash area is the thinner tapering section near the edge. The rim or rim is the immediate circumference of the cymbal.
• Cymbals are measured by their diameter in either inches or centimeters. The size of a cymbal affects its sound, with larger cymbals generally being louder and having longer sustain.
• Weight refers to how thick the cymbal is. Cymbal weights are important to the sound they produce and how they are played.

Type

Orchestral Cymbals

• Cymbals provide a nearly endless amount of color and effects to the musician. His unique timbre allows him to project against a full orchestra and through even the heaviest orchestrations, enhancing articulation and almost any dynamic.
• Cymbals have historically been used to suggest frenzy, fury or Bacchanal revelry, as seen in the Venus music from Wagner’s Tannhauser, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, and from Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail Osmin’s aria “O vi wil ich triunfieren”.

Hanging Cymbal

• Another use of cymbals is hanging cymbals. The instrument takes its name from the traditional method of suspending the cymbals by means of a leather strap or rope, thus allowing the cymbals to vibrate as freely as possible for maximum musical effect.
• Early jazz drumming pioneers borrowed this style of cymbal in the early 1900s and later drummers used this instrument mounted horizontally or nearly horizontally, rather than the leather strap suspension system of a modern drum kit Evolved into “Crash” cymbals.

Ancient Cymbals

• Antique, antique or out of tune cymbals are rarely sought after. Their timbre is completely different, like the notes of tiny hand bells or a closed harmonica.
• They do not strike completely against each other, but with one of their edges, and the notes given by them are proportionately higher because they are thicker and shorter.
• Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet calls for two pairs of cymbals, some based on old Pompeian instruments no bigger than a hand and tuned to F and B flat. Modern instruments derived from this line are crotales.

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