I was recently asked a question on the forum about cymbals; how to choose them, when to hit them, etc. It reminded me of a lot of questions I had when I started out. Here's what I replied...
The few times I made the trek to the nearest decent drum shop (2 hours away) to choose my own cymbals I was disappointed when I got home and tried them on the kit. Then I started checking out what my favourite drummers were using and just ordered them online and was generally happier with what I ended up with. A lot of drummers would scold me for that as cymbals can be a very personal thing, but I've found Zildjian's online cymbal chooser to be very useful. The samples on there are pretty accurate. Obviously there can be pretty big differences between two of the same cymbal - for example I've had three 15" A custom crashes in my time and each one sounded different. However, having said that, they're still within a range and I can identify their characteristics with what I hear on the Zildjian site.
If you're just starting out don't worry too much about getting the 'right' cymbal. There isn't a 'right' cymbal - it's all about what you like and don't like and you'll only find that out with time and experience. Some cymbals you buy you'll grow to love; others you'll find you don't like as much and may end up selling on eBay.
With regards to when to move to the ride, or open the hi-hats, or use the bell or hit a crash, etc.
Most of those will answer themselves over time. I could try and explain my ideas about when to hit a crash, how much to open the hihats, etc. but it wouldn't really make sense until you had the same experiences I'd had.
The best 2 pieces of advice I can offer are:
a) Pay attention to what other drummers do on songs you like. Make mental notes about where they go to a different cymbal, place the crashes, use the ride bell, etc. Try to imagine what those parts of the song would sound like if they'd stayed on the hihat instead of going to the ride, or if they'd used a splash instead of a crash or just omitted the crash all together.
b) Record yourself playing on gigs and in practise sessions. This is most relevant when you're playing music with other musicians. When you're listening back you'll know whether things sound good or not. Perhaps you'll realise that you should have gone to the ride in the chorus. Perhaps play the song a few times and try different cymbal orchestrations - then listen back and compare and see what you prefer. That's what it's all about in the end. There's no right answer - it's just a case of what sounds best to you.
Obviously the possibilities are endless. Try not to feel restricted in what you can do. If you're coming up with drum parts for a song you should let yourself be as free as possible. Allow yourself to try things even if you think they might sound rubbish. Every time you try something and you don't like how it sounds you're one step closer to finding something you think sounds right.
It can be really useful to get some music minus drums to play along to. That way you can try all sorts of ideas without boring a room full of musicians by getting them to play over and over. If you're working on parts for a song for your band then maybe get them to play along to a click so you have something to work with on your own time.
Quite often when I'm working on a new song I'll find myself singing it while I'm in the shower/cooking/running/etc. and I'll hear a fill or groove in my head that I think will work well. I either jot it down on a bit of paper or sing it into my phone. Anything so you can remember it when you're at your kit. Then when you're back at the kit you can try it and see if it sounds as good as it did in your head. If you don't have a phone with a voice recorder on it you could even call yourself and leave yourself a voicemail.
Here are a few things you could try to expand your musical cymbal palette:
Hi Hat
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i) Try combinations of hitting it on the top with the tip of the stick, and on the side with the shoulder.
ii) Vary the pressure of your foot - you can range from very tight short hihat notes (a la Stewart Copeland) to looser notes with more sustain, to half open, to taking your foot right off the pedal. You'll only know what sounds best by recording it and listening back.
iii) Try adjusting the pressure of your hihat foot to allow the hihat notes to last an 8th note or a quarter note.
iv) Try playing the bell of the hihat
Crash
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i) Crashes can sound cool when you hit them with the kick drum. This works well on the 1 of a new bar after a big fill.
ii) Try NOT putting a crash and kick on the 1 after a fill.
iii) Try putting a crash on the 1 of a new bar but with no kick.
iv) Try crashes in different places. Maybe on the '4'. Or on the 'a' of 4 with a kick on the 1.
v) Try crashing with a snare instead of a kick.
vi) Try crashing with a tom (Vinnie quite often combines floor tom and crash)
vii) Try hitting 2 crashes one after another. See how it sounds when you use different pairs of crashes.
viii) Try choking a crash cymbal (grabbing it with your hand to silence it) to stop it ringing into a quieter section of the song. This can be very effective.
Orchestration
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A basic rule you might follow for orchestration is to use smaller faster cymbals when accenting short sounds in the music (a horn stab or an accented guitar chord), and to use larger crashes with more sustain when you're accenting things of longer duration (a big sustained guitar chord, or held bass note, etc). Short sounds might be a splash or small crash, or a quick open hihat or maybe the ride bell. Longer sounds would be larger crashes, crashing the ride, china, or an open hihat left to ring.
Volume
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One thing to note is that cymbals often carry much more than the drums. In a live situation in a smaller venue you often don't need to mic them as they cut through. When recording they're often too loud in the overheads in comparison to the overall kit volume. One tip I found useful is to hit them more gently. They sound 'bigger' and they make the kit sound more powerful when it's not drowned by cymbals. Crashes also sound different depending on how hard you hit them. Again, record yourself trying different volumes, listen back and decide for yourself.
With regards to product descriptions (washy, dry, etc). they're the sales team's best efforts to describe something that you really need to hear to appreciate. It's like reading menu items in a posh restaurant. The same goes for the terminology that's now so ingrained - ride, crash, splash, hihat, china, were all coined at some point in time.
The best thing is to go and try out different cymbals and see what you like. Zildjian's website has a cool feature where you can listen to samples of each cymbal - that might help you understand what they mean when they say 'dry' (doesn't ring or resonate so much - not so many overtones.) Still, you really should hear before you buy. You wouldn't paint your living room with a paint colour you'd only read the description of...
If you have any thoughts you'd like to add, come and join in the discussion on the forum
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