Listen to the chap
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the chap makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the chap belongs to the idiophones: the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
A chap or chhap (Thai: ฉาบ, Khmer: ឆាប) is a percussion instrument. It is made from bronze, as is a ching, but is thinner. The chap consists of two thin, round disks or plates with a bulge in the center. The plates are held against the hands like cymbals, using handles made of string, passing through a hole in the center of each plate. The name comes from the sound the instrument makes when struck directly together, "chap, chap." The "timbre or tone" change when struck at an angle.
There are two kinds of chap: chap lek and chap yai. A chap lek's diameter is 12–14 cm. A chap yai's diameter is 24–26 cm. The Cambodian names for the two kinds of chap are chap thom (large chap) and chap toch (small chap).
Other idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a chap sound like?
Listen to 1 recording on this page. As one of the idiophones, its sound comes from the way the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
What type of instrument is the chap?
It is classified as idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 1.899).
Sources & credits
- Iolanthe (Norris and Byng, 1922) - 13 - When all night long a chap remains - Strephon's… by His Master's Voice – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q16875619 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Chap (instrument) – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Gudzwabofer – CC BY-SA 4.0