What is the technique called where you hold a crash cymbal while hitting it?
I used to play in a band with a drummer who used to grab the crash cymbal with his left hand and strike it hard whilst playing the bass drum. This made a really nice sound like iron being struck in a Blacksmith. I was wondering whether this technique has a name so I can find and download a sample of it to use in my compositions.
Thanks.
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As far as i know, holding the cymbal while striking it is called 'damping.'
You could also try searching for "(cymbal) bell" since striking the bell of a cymbal (without damping and especially a thick cymbal) gives a clear metallic sound that fits your description.
It's called "choking" or "cymbal choke".
Another name for it is "muting". Unfortunately that term is overloaded since it also means putting materials on cymbals to make them sound quieter for practice or just to make them less intense.
Even if the drummer is holding the cymbal before or during, I'd say choke is still the best word. If your drummer got a serious "ping" sound then that's probably a choke combined with hitting the bell of the cymbal (hump right near the hole in the center - see here). He might have been choking to make sure only the bell sound rings out instead of the bow (the main part of the cymbal), which might have added a noisy sizzle to the sound and taken away from the clarity of the bell sound.
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