Opening the Vault
Hi music fans! My name is Lane Davy and I’m with the Operations team at SABIAN. We’re finally starting to crawl out from under the snow over here at SABIAN’s headquarters in Meductic, New Brunswick, and to celebrate, I thought I’d pen this month’s “SABIAN Corner”. With summer right around the corner, festivals and tours will soon be in full force and I figured it would be a good time to talk about the upcoming SABIAN Vault Tour as well as provide you with the basics of how to play cymbals. Away we go…
If you check out our previous columns on this site, you’ll find that we’ve outlined the unique features that cymbals add to music as well as how to go about selecting a set tailored to your needs and abilities. So the next step is providing info on how to play, right? Well, in terms of actual playing techniques, keep the following in mind as you take get behind your drum kit:
- Tilt the cymbals at a slight angle (about 35 degrees) and you'll extend their life.
- Playing straight into the edge of the cymbal is potentially harmful because this will not distribute the vibrations evenly and may eventually cause cracks. If your cymbals are ‘chewing up’ your sticks, you’re hitting the edge.
- Always play your cymbals with sweeping strokes. Think ‘slice’, not ‘strike’.
- Play with a firm but controlled stroke; if you play too hard you will "choke" the response.
- If you prefer mounting cymbals flat on their stands, we recommend you lower them to shoulder level or lower to get the best angle of attack and minimize potential for damage.
- If a cymbal is set flat and too high you’ll be playing into the edge and that can cause breakage.
- Ride cymbals are played using the tip of the stick on the bow area of the cymbal (a couple inches in from the edge up to near the bell)
- Experimenting with where to play a ride cymbal and with what type of stick can be its own reward and may also help you discover your own sound.
- When playing Chinese cymbals, most drummers get the best results when the cymbal is mounted upside down, struck with the shoulder of the stick across the flange (that turned up edge) of the cymbal
- If the cymbal is mounted the other way (edge pointing upward), you won’t be able to play the flange because you’ll be hitting the upturned edge. Striking the edge means you won’t be playing the best part of the cymbal, you could warp that flange, and you could very easily break the cymbal.
- Remember, if it feels like you’re fighting with the cymbal or having to hit it harder to get the right sound or volume, you probably need to try another series, model or size
- In general, darker sounding cymbals tend to ‘blend’ more while brighter sounding cymbals have more ‘cut’
- As you will see with the many players in the SABIAN NewsBeat magazine (available for free at music stores), you can mix series and sounds to achieve the set-up you’re after.
Last month we previewed the SABIAN Vault Tour that will be traveling the West Coast of the U.S.A. in June. This tour will provide music fans on the left coast with a behind-the-scenes experience on how cymbals are made, including advice regarding how to select and care for cymbals. Just like last fall’s tour, this year’s traveling cymbal exhibition will feature cymbal lathing and hand-hammering demonstrations. It will also offer an exclusive selection of prototypes available for purchase. The tour will be facilitated by SABIAN master craftsmen, so you can get advice from the same experts that design and craft cymbals for drum legends including Neil Peart and Chad Smith. If you’re on the West Coast in June, don’t miss the SABAN Vault Tour; the ultimate cymbal experience!
In addition to expanding our Vault Tour, SABIAN has launched a new collection of cymbals named Vault. Inspired by today’s players and the music they play, as well as ideas generated by our own artisans – Vault has already won an award! That’s right, the Musikmesse International Press Association (M.I.P.A) - editors of 58 leading music magazines including Modern Drummer and Rhythm - recently awarded the Artisan Ride a M.I.P.A. award for “Outstanding Cymbal”. So be sure to check it out at your local drum store, music shop, or on one of this summer’s Vault Tour stops.
Until next time, keep the above tips in mind when playing cymbals, step into the SABIAN Vault Tour if you’re on the West Coast U.S.A. this summer, and keep your eyes and ears open for our new award-winning Vault Crash and Artisan Ride!
Your fellow music fan,
Lane
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