hitting cymbals

[paraply]

Hey.

The question is easy enough. How do you hit cymbals? Rides and hats aren't too hard to understand, but what about crashes and chinas? Are you supposed to hit the edge of the cymbal with the side of the stick, or kind of the big area at the top with the round thing of the stick? Is there some way that you should NOT hit the cymbal, i.e. you damage it that way or something?

Also, I have 2 other cymbal questions:
1. Can cymbals be damaged by contact with water?
2. How do you know whether you should use a boom-stand or a normal stand for your cymbals?

Thanks.

[Jred250]

Hey.

The question is easy enough. How do you hit cymbals? Rides and hats aren't too hard to understand, but what about crashes and chinas? Are you supposed to hit the edge of the cymbal with the side of the stick, or kind of the big area at the top with the round thing of the stick? Is there some way that you should NOT hit the cymbal, i.e. you damage it that way or something?

Also, I have 2 other cymbal questions:
1. Can cymbals be damaged by contact with water?
2. How do you know whether you should use a boom-stand or a normal stand for your cymbals?

Thanks.

You can hit a cymbal:

1. Mid Stick, on the edge of the cymbal
2. With the nib of the stick on the top (Bell)

[the_pure_drummer]

You can hit a cymbal:

1. Mid Stick, on the edge of the cymbal
2. With the nib of the stick on the top (Bell)

I second that ^^^

And no alot of people wash there cymbals with warm soapy water to clean them.
So yes you can put them in water.

And to your other question, it pretty much personal prefference but some people like to use different things for different jobs.

[Josiah]

Standing water on a cymbal will corrode them.


To hit a cymbal properly you do not actually hit the edge. This is VERY bad.

Using the shoulder of the stick and making a downward sweeping blow at the cymbal.

Zildjian.com has some illustrated things about playing cymbals properly.


Basically, never strike the edge. Always use a sweeping or glancing blow. The rest doesn't matter.

[DrumIntoTheNight]

http://www.paiste.com/faqs/default.php?faqcategoryid=3&faqid=78#faq78

[Jred250]

. How do you know whether you should use a boom-stand or a normal stand for your cymbals?


A normal stand or boom stand is totally optional, however, putting a normal cymbal stand behind your mid tom for eg: would mean having to reach quite far for the cymbal. Boom stands are more for the problem areas where a normal stand would position the cymbal out of confortable reach.

1. Can cymbals be damaged by contact with water?


Water does no harm to cymbals at all, I would recommend drying thouroughly after cleaning though. You can also buy a selection of cleaning products for cymbals from your local music store, also Brasso does a pretty good job.

[dairyairman]

my drum teacher was telling me tonight that you should hit the cymbal with a glancing stroke, and to glance in the direction you're going to play next. for example, if you hit the crash cymbal and want to play the hats next glance in the direction of the hats.

[beaker_747]

Try to draw the sound out of the cymbals, rather than blasting the sound through them.

[TaylorRules]

Everyone's already pretty much answered the hitting question. Basically: your stick isn't a hammer. Bring the stick down and through the cymbal in a sweeping motion, using the shoulder of the stick. But not hitting the edge i.e. the stick and cymbal edge shouldn't be perpendicular (sp?). I suck at explaining things in type...

Water will damage cymbals if it is left long enough to do damage. Clean your cymbals with some mild soap and water and thoroughly rub dry with a towel.

With boom and straight stands it's all personal choice. I personally prefer boom stands, they are far more versatile.

[drummguy731]

You can hit the edges of the cymbal and get a bell sound out of it, but I would highly advise doing it without any force applied. Why? Because when you hit the edges of the cymbal, absolutely no movement can be transferred throughout the cymbal, therefore causing it to crack.

As Josiah said, standing water will cause corrosion, but as long as you dry it up, it should be fine.

As long as you keep the cymbals loose enough, the type of stand really doesn't effect much but positioning.