How the splash cymbal makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the splash 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
In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals, often a smaller derivative of the more common crash cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals.
The most common sized splash has a diameter of 8", followed by 10". Most splash cymbals are in the size range of 6" to 13", but some splash cymbals are as small as 4". Splash cymbals larger than 10" are most often similar to hi-hats in sound characteristics.
Other struck idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a splash cymbal sound like?
As one of the struck idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is struck directly.
What type of instrument is the splash cymbal?
It is classified as struck idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 111.24).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q1074981 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Splash cymbal – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Dooba – CC BY-SA 3.0