cymbal

Ancient percussion instrument of indefinite pitch. It consists of a shallow, circular brass dish suspended from the centre. They are either used in pairs clashed together or singly, struck with a beater. Crashed cymbals can be heard in Dvorak's first and eighth Slavonic Dances. Extensive use of cymbals is found in much 20th-century orchestral music, often in conjunction with gongs and tam tams, such as in the The Triumph of Time (1972) by Harrison Birtwistle. Smaller finger cymbals or crotala, of ancient origin but used in the 20th century by Claude Debussy and Karlheinz Stockhausen, are precise in pitch. Rivet or ‘buzz’ cymbals incorporate loose rivets to add a sizzle to the sound. This effect can also be achieved by draping small chains over the cymbal.