Listen to the ride cymbal
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the ride cymbal makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the ride 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.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The ride cymbal is a cymbal of material sustain used to maintain a beat in music. A standard in most drum kits, the ride's function is to maintain a steady pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than provide the accent of a crash cymbal. It is normally placed on the extreme right (or dominant hand) of a drum set, above the floor tom. It is often described as delivering a "shimmering" sound when struck soundly with a drumstick, and a clear ping when struck atop its bell.
The ride can fulfill any function or rhythm the hi-hat cymbal does, with the exception of an open and closed sound.
Other struck idiophones
Questions people ask
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Frequently asked questions
What does a ride 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 ride cymbal?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.24).
Sources & credits
- Shuffle pattern by Kakofonous – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q93992 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Ride cymbal – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Mikeh0303 at English Wikipedia . Photo By: Michael H. – CC BY 2.5