Cymbals share an equal role among the drums. They are obsessed over and influence techniques as much as the snare drum, and there are several different types of cymbals that could complete your drum set.
The most common types of cymbals include the ride, hi-hats, crash, splash, China, and effects. They come in different specifications that affect the sound — lathed or unlathed, brilliant finishes, thick or thin, and so on. These days, you can get a cymbal for almost any timbre or musical situation that comes to mind.
Although the history of cymbal-making dates back thousands of years, most of the cymbals we use today have been developed since the 1940s. Avedis Ziljian III, for example, made the first thin crash cymbals and crash / rides in the WWII era.
Let’s get into the different types of cymbals.
| Type of Cymbal | Description | Uses / Applications |
| 1. Ride | Large diameter cymbal played like your riding along on a train or galloping with a horse. | Main time-keeping cymbal, sometimes used as a heavy crash. |
| 2. Hi-Hats | Two cymbals, each with the bows facing outwardly, on a stand designed to bring the top hat down onto the bottom with a foot pedal. | Main time-keeping cymbals, played with stick or foot. |
| 3. Crash | Thin cymbal that excites faster than a ride when struck on the edge and decays quickly for control. | Accents and phrase markers whether struck directly or rolled, can be used as a ride cymbal by playing with the tip on the bow or the shoulder of the stick on the edge repeatedly. |
| 4. China | Trashy crash sound with a flange on the edge angled in the opposite direction as the arc of the bow, often inverted on the cymbal stand. | Played like a crash cymbal (ride, too). |
| 5. Swish | Like a China with equally-spaced holes and rivets around the end of the bow where the flange starts upward, often mounted with the bell facing up on the cymbal stand. | Played more like a ride cymbal, especially in big band. |
| 6. Splash | Smaller diameter thin cymbals that excite fast and decay quickly. | Accents, supported or unsupported by drums. |
| 7. Stack | Two or more cymbals placed close together so they touch and make a new sound when struck with a stick. | Used like a crash, ride, or splash — main ride patterns or accents. |
| 8. Finger / Hand | Two identical cymbals, each held on one hand or the other, struck together with specific techniques for achieving quality sounds. | Crash, hi-hat sound simulations. |
| 9. Effects | Various sizes, usually holes in the cymbal create a trashy or unique sound. | Played like a crash, ride, or splash. |
Shop The Right Cymbals for You
1. Ride
The first ride cymbals were crash cymbals hung horizontally to allow easy access to the bow of the cymbal. Not long after WWI, drummer Baby Dodds started playing the cymbal with sticks in lieu of playing similar parts on drum rims or wood blocks.
Since then, innovations have led to various thicknesses and diameters. Steve Gadd, for example, plays an 18 inch ride. It’s on the thicker side of the range of ride cymbals, but it’s small diameter means less metal resonating. This provides a strong ping that doesn’t overtake the dynamics of other instruments on the kit or in the ensemble.
The 20 inch and 22 inch diameter are the more common, but odd sizes like a 21 inch are also available. It may seem like a slight difference, but 1 inch diameter from 20 to 21 can be a lot in terms of cymbal wash volume and overall feel of the cymbal.
Playing Surfaces
Like many of the cymbals on this list, the ride can be played on the bow, bell, and edge. The variety of sounds that can be brought out from the ride cymbal is increased by using the different areas of the drumstick — tip, shoulder, shaft, and butt.
For more in-depth explanations of cymbal sounds, check out this article that explores ride cymbals and crashes.
Techniques
Ride cymbal technique is about how you hold and move the drumstick. The two schools of thought focus on using rebound, like you would with a drum, and stroking everything with wrist and arm movement. Although neither approach is right or wrong, using the rebound is a better place to start as you develop your movements and muscles.
Try playing the ride cymbal with a French grip. This will place your thumb facing up. This allows the stick to pivot on your index or middle finger, depending on where you place your fulcrum.
Common Patterns
The ride pattern is a consistent rhythm that moves forward with the music. I like to think about the stick going for a ride on the cymbal or that the cymbal is mimicking the riding on a train or in a carriage with all of the rhythms and sounds that repeat as you ride to your destination.
Quarter Notes
Eighth Notes
Swing
2. Hi-Hat
The hi-hat, as we know it today, is an advancement in drum hardware. It’s so “high” in comparison to the low boys that drummers used in early swing bands. Drummers would play bass drum, snare drum, and low boy cymbal hats with their foot.
Although the specific person and date as to when the hi-hat was invented is unclear, the reason was simple. Drummers wanted to be able to play the hats with their sticks, too.
Types of Hi-Hat Cymbals
Hi-hat cymbals were mostly 14 inches until the 1970s when drummers started using 15 inch hats. The range of sizes expand from 14s and 13s to 12s and smaller. These days, 14s and 13s are the most common, yet more and more drummers are using 16 inch hi-hats.
Cymbal makers produce cymbals that are heavy, medium, or light. They sell top and bottoms separately so drummers can mix and match different cymbals. For example, one of the more famous combinations is the Zildjian K Custom 13” top with the Dynobeat bottom. The heavy bottom gives you volume, and the lighter top gives you more dynamic range.
Hi-Hat Playing Surfaces
The hi-hat can be played by clapping the cymbals together with the foot pedal or with the drumsticks directly on the cymbals. Add combinations of pedal and stick hits, and you can achieve tighter or looser cymbal sounds and slurps as you open and close the hats.
If you’re looking for more about different ways to play the hi-hat, this article includes 8 techniques for getting great sounds.
3. Crash
In the history of crash cymbals, they are not as old as cymbal-making itself, not even close. Crash cymbals originally came from the military style cymbal playing in which two cymbals were crashed together to produce the sound. They don’t become popular on drum set until the 1940s.
Zildjian responded to WWII-era drummers, like Gene Krupa, by making a thinner cymbal that worked well for crashing with the sticks (source). This led to the development of a cymbal that was in between the paper thin crash and the heavier ride cymbal, on that we would come to call a crash / ride.
Crash Cymbal Sizes
Crash cymbals range in sizes from 14 inch to 20 inch. The most common sizes are between 16 and 18, including the odd sizes. Some drummers, like Vinnie Colaiuta, use a 17 inch crash and a 15. Drummers, like Steve Gadd, use an 18 inch crash and a 16.
The smaller diameter cymbals are often more appreciated by recording engineers, although it’s not a requirement to record with small cymbals.
How to Play a Pair of Crash Cymbals
For crash cymbals that are hand held in pairs, the technique requires the player to hold one cymbal stationary and strike it with the other. As one cymbal contacts the other, make sure the contact is gradual across the leading edges. This will ensure a vacuum isn’t created, diminishing the sound production and quality.
Techniques for Crash Cymbals on a Stand
Both the cymbal and the drumstick each have three different playing areas, so there are several different combinations that you can use to play the cymbal depending on what kind of sound you want to get. For example, you can use the shoulder of the drumstick on the bow of the cymbal you can also use the shoulder of the drumstick on the bell of the cymbal.
The same goes for the tip of the drumstick or the shaft of the drumstick, including the butt or end.
4. China
Chinese cymbals are a trashy crash sound that derives its name from the similarity in sound that it shares with Chinese gongs or tams. They are known for having an inverted flange on the outer edge, which usually leads players to mount them upside down on the cymbal stand.
These cymbals come in a wide range of sizes, including small 8 to 10 inch and larger 18 to 20 inch. Likewise, china cymbals are available in a variety of lathing, hammering, and finishes.
Like other types of crash cymbals, the China is often struck with support from the kick drum or snare drum. However, this doesn’t mean that an unsupported China hit doesn’t sound good. You have to make musical choices that create the sound you’re trying to create, not follow a rulebook that doesn’t really exist.
5. Swish
The swish cymbal is similar to a China by design, but the way it’s played and mounted is a little different. Most players mount the swish like a normal ride or crash cymbal. This may be due to the fact that a lot of players like to ride on the swish in situations like jazz or big band ensembles.
The evenly spaced rivets near the edge of the swish is one of the unique characteristics of its design.The rivets keep the cymbal active as they sizzle, adding more sustain and a slightly different timbre to the overall sound.
6. Splash
The splash cymbal is the smallest cymbal you’ll likely mount to your drum set. It’s great for accents that don’t warrant a big crash or the timbre of a hi-hat slurp, to name a couple of examples.
Splashes range from really small 6 inch cymbals to 13 inches. The most common sizes are 8 inch to 12 inch, and you can find also find some models, like the Zildjian K Custom Hybrid series, that include odd sizes
Some players, like Vinnie Colaiuta or Carter Beauford, use multiple splash cymbals. They incorporate splashes, both supported by drums and unsupported, into grooves as recurring accents, as well as fills and ensemble hits (accents other instruments that several instruments in the group play at the same time).
You can mount splash cymbals in so many different places. Many drummers even place them on a drum to change the timbre. If you place a small splash on a snare drum and play it by burying the drum stick into the cymbal, it makes a loud crack as if there’s a trigger on the snare.
For more about mounting splash cymbals, check out this article on considerations when buying splash cymbal mounting hardware.
7. Stack
Stacks have been popular lately, especially since cymbal makers have been making more options for drummers. The short yet sizzle sound of a stack is awesome for fills, accents, and driving a groove.
You can make your own stack or buy a set of cymbals designed by the manufacturer for this type of configuration. Try combining splashes and Chinas, among other types of cymbals, to find the right fit for your stack. In fact, Carter Beauford’s China stack was one of the first stacks on my radar in the mid 1990s.
Sizes don’t matter either. Bigger stacks made with 16 or 18 inch crash cymbals can be great for heavy sounds. It doesn’t matter what size or type as long as the cymbals fit well together and you have some control over the sound you’re trying to produce.
8. Finger and Hand
Hand crash cymbals are not exactly what every drum set player is thinking about for their kit, but it’s a part of drum set history and worthy of this list.
If you can play crash cymbals well, it’s a really good skill to have. You never know when a producer might bust out the crash cymbals. Percussionists who can play hand cymbals can achieve a wide range of volumes and sounds.
Finger cymbals are just cute. I was taught to play them by striking the edges of each together and moving them back and forth to make a phasing effect.
9. Effects
Last on the list, but certainly my favorite types of cymbals, is the effects cymbals. I understand that Chinas, stacks, and splashes are considered effects, but the cymbals I’m talking about are the ones with holes and funky hammering to achieve the effect.
My favorite effects cymbal is the Zildjian Orietntal Crash of Doom. I have a 20 inch, and it’s great for riding, crashing, and the bell rocks, too. The Oriental Sound Effects series has a lot to offer for trashy Chinas and splashes. Plus, a lot of those sizes and shapes work great for stacking cymbals.
Many cymbal manufacturers make effects cymbals by punching holes of different shapes into the cymbal. Drummers are using these cymbals as much as a main crash. In fact, sometimes it’s the only crash I bring on the gig.
Final Thoughts
With all of the cymbal options these days, there are few legitimate excuses for not having a good time with cymbals on your drum set. Along with the snare drum, cymbals are your sound, and it’s just as much of a personal journey collecting and configuring the cymbal setup as it is learning how to play them.
Related Articles
“How to Set Up a Hi-Hat Stand – Cymbal and Hardware Do’s and Don’ts”