How to Play a Crash Cymbal

A crash cymbal is a percussion instrument that produces a thin, bright, cutting sound. As part of a standard drum set, a crash cymbal is a type of suspended cymbal that mounts on a cymbal stand. Unlike hi-hat cymbals and ride cymbals, which are often used to establish a steady groove, crash cymbals are typically used sparingly. Most drummers use them during transitions between sections, during drum solos, and at the end of songs.

The term crash cymbals also describes the oversized hand cymbals used in orchestras. These crash cymbals are played by multi-instrumentalists who are skilled in a variety of percussion instruments. Marching bands also use this type of cymbal, with players sounding their crash cymbals in step with a choreographed march.

Drummers use crash cymbals differently than ride cymbals.

• Sound: Crash cymbals are thinner cymbals than ride cymbals, and they tend to be much smaller in diameter. This gives them a brighter sound than a ride. As a general rule, the thinner the crash cymbal, the brighter and more treble-focused the cymbal will be. Some cymbals, marketed as paper-thin crashes, contain almost no mid frequencies at all, which makes them sound quieter to the human ear.
• Use: Because of their brighter sound, crash cymbals don't enjoy the steady use that ride cymbals do. Many drummers incorporate ride cymbals into their core grooves, particularly in the jazz idiom. Crash cymbals, on the other hand, are not designed to produce grooves. Their thin construction creates massive resonance, which can sound beautiful but is not conducive to establishing a steady beat. If you were to play steady quarter notes or eighth notes on a crash, the notes would bleed into one another. That’s why drummers don’t use them for keeping time the way they do hi-hat and ride cymbals.
• Hybrids: Many drum manufacturers make a hybrid cymbal called a crash/ride cymbal. This splits the difference between the resonant, treble-focused timbre of a thin crash cymbal and the lower, deader sound of a ride cymbal. Crash/ride cymbals can be a great option when you need to keep your drum set small.

The crash cymbal has a unique sound that can serve to end a song or drum fill, create a crescendo, or fill out the sonic palette of a drum solo.

• Choose the right crash cymbal. Today's drummers enjoy a wide array of crash cymbal options from brands like Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl Percussion, and Paiste. Made from bronze, these cymbals vary in diameter and thinness, with thinner cymbals producing higher-pitched sounds and thicker cymbals producing mid-pitched sounds. You can tell how thin a crash is by the number printed on it—the higher the number, the thinner the cymbal. Therefore a B20 cymbal is thinner (and more treble-focused) than a B10 or B8 cymbal.
• Place the cymbal on your non-dominant side. Drummers generally place their primary crash on the snare-drum side of their kit, suspended above their rack toms. If a player has a variety of crash cymbals—such as splash cymbals, China cymbals, and crashes of different diameters—they can station them around the kit.
• Use the right type of beaters. Crash cymbals are played with beaters, which can be drum sticks, mallets, hot rods, or wire brushes. Most drummers and cymbal players strike their crash cymbals with drumsticks, which produce loud, bright sounds. For effect, you can perform drum rolls on crashes using mallets, which creates a dense wall of sound.
• Learn where to strike the cymbal. Crash cymbals are useful for accents and effects. A general rule of cymbal technique is that cymbals are louder and more resonant when struck near their edge. Playing the cymbal near its center will create a more muted sound. A skilled percussionist will incorporate both edge strikes and center strikes into their cymbal playing technique, as each can produce a desired sound.

The playing technique for orchestral cymbals and marching band cymbals is different. Players grip a pair of cymbals, one in each hand. They produce a cymbal crash by holding the left hand steady and moving the right hand upward, sliding the right cymbal against the left cymbal. This produces the grandiose cymbal sounds heard in the works of composers like Mahler and Tchaikovsky.

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