Listen to the cymbal
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the cymbal makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the cymbal belongs to the struck idiophones: the body is struck directly – bells, gongs, xylophones and cymbals.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The cymbals are common percussion instruments. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various copper alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs (such as crotales) sound a definite note. Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra and percussion ensembles to jazz bands, rock bands, and marching bands. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, a ride, or a crash/ride cymbal and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist.
Other struck idiophones
Questions people ask
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Frequently asked questions
What does a cymbal sound like?
Listen to 1 recording on this page. As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the cymbal?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.142).
Sources & credits
- Crash cymbal – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q190172 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Cymbal – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image – CC BY-SA 3.0