How do i differentiate a crash cymbal from a ride cymbal which looks so similar
Today I was practicing for a drum performance in school and I didn't know the positions of the crash cymbal and ride cymbal were different from the usual drum set up. I only realised the mistake halfway through the practice when the sound produced was weird.
How do I differentiate between the "Crash Cymbal" and "Ride Cymbal", which look so similar in appearance assuming you do not know the position of it in the drum set?
I am open to other answers which would allow me to differentiate between the two.
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As @Meaningful Username pointed out, the ride is usually heavier than the crash. It is also typically larger than the crash (ride usually 20 inches in diameter and crash mostly 14 to 18 inches).
If you hit the center region of a ride, it produces a bell-like sound.
To add to what's here:
Ride cymbals will not be very loud when struck (comparitively), but will have overtones that last for much longer than crash cymbals.
Crash cymbals, for the most part, are meant to accent the beat - be loud when hit, then fade quickly.
If you hit both very hard, across the edge of your stick, listen to see what is still ringing many seconds later.
The purist, jazz drummer in me will tell you there is no difference. You can place a cymbal wherever you want and play it however you want regardless of what word the manufacturer decided to print on it. You can ride a crash and crash a ride. "Crash" and "ride" are just divisions we've made based on how well they produce certain kinds of sounds. So really the only distinctions you can make are based on sound. Do you like the way it sounds when you crash it? Then crash it. Do you like the way it sounds when you ride it? Then ride it. But crash and ride don't have to be different cymbals - just different play styles. I often run an 18" "crash/ride" on the left and a thicker 20" "ride" on the left but I crash and ride both of them interchangeably depending on the music. So which one is my ride cymbal? Both. Which is my crash cymbal? Both. They just crash and ride in different ways and at different intensities. I also have a 17" "dark crash" that I like to ride in smaller venues and stuff. It's small and light and opens up at a pretty low volume. So it works pretty well in small, intimate spaces and playing lightly with light sticks. Alternatively, it makes an excellent crash cymbal in sort-of medium-loud live music or in the studio where volume doesn't really matter so much. So I feel it has pretty diverse applications.
Idk, that's a pretty philosophical approach to a simple question, but I legitimately feel the boxes we place on ourselves - you can only crash and crash and ride a ride - are limiting and inhibit our creativity and musicality. So go, crash your rides and ride your crashes. Experiment. Find what sounds good and let that be the ultimate measure of what a cymbal is. Size, thickness, position, even the label on the cymbal - no one in the audience or listening to your record is going to know or care about these trivialities - only sound matters.
More often than not the word "crash" or "ride" is printed somewhere on the cymbal in question. A ride usually is thicker and heavier than a crash.
Hit both the cymbals once .
The "Crash Cymbal" should produce a loud, sharp "crash"
The "Ride Cymbal" should produce a sustained, shimmering sound
Sample of Crash Cymbal sound
Sample of Ride Cymbal sound
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