Crash! Clang! Ting!

Whether you’re watching your school’s marching band perform at halftime or listening to a rock band on YouTube, pay attention and you’ll likely catch it: the crash of cymbals. These metal instruments are a key component of many types of music, from classical to pop.

Cymbals are deceptively simple-looking percussion instruments—ones that produce sound waves when struck. But “they are actually one of the more complicated instruments in a lot of ways,” says Robert Owen, a physicist who teaches musical acoustics—the science of sound—at Oberlin College in Ohio. Cymbals can have different thicknesses, sizes, and shapes. They may have a surface that’s smooth, hammered, or etched with grooves. All these variations have a big effect on the sound cymbals produce.

To find out more about the science of cymbals, Science World spoke with the Avedis Zildjian (AH-vah-dis ZIL-jee-uhn) Company, the world’s oldest cymbal manufacturer. It’s been crafting cymbals for 400 years! Following a closely guarded secret process, the company creates cymbals that can accentuate any kind of music, from the steady beat of a rock song to the dramatic finale of a march.

When you watch your school’s marching band at halftime, you’ll hear it. And when you listen to a rock band on YouTube, the sound is there too. It’s the crash of cymbals. These metal instruments are a key part of many types of music. They’re common from classical to pop.

Cymbals are percussion instruments, struck to produce sound waves. They may look simple. But “they are actually one of the more complicated instruments in a lot of ways,” says Robert Owen, a physicist at Oberlin College in Ohio. He teaches musical acoustics, the science of sound. Cymbals can have different thicknesses, sizes, and shapes. Their surface can be smooth, hammered, or carved with grooves. These differences have a big effect on the cymbals’ sound.

Science World spoke with the Avedis Zildjian (AH-vah-dis ZIL-jee-uhn) Company about the science of cymbals. This is the world’s oldest cymbal manufacturer. It’s been crafting cymbals for 400 years! The company follows a closely guarded secret process. It can create cymbals for any kind of music, from a rock song’s steady beat to a march’s dramatic finish.

The Zildjian family’s connection to cymbals began by accident. In 1618, an Armenian ancestor named Avedis lived in the Ottoman Empire, in an area of Europe that’s now part of the Türkiye. Avedis was an alchemist—an ancient chemist searching for a way to transform common metals into gold. Instead, he ended up creating an alloy, or metal mixture, made of copper (Cu) and tin (Sn).

Avedis found that the alloy produced a clear, powerful sound when struck. So he used it to craft cymbals for the ruler’s military bands. The atoms in a metal have an orderly structure, which means “they’re able to hold a lot of vibrational energy and release it for a long period of time,” explains Owen. When hit, a cymbal generates sound waves of many different frequencies—rates of vibration—all at once (see “Parts of a Sound Wave"). Our ears perceive these frequencies as different pitches. Together they sound like a lingering, crashing ring.

The ruler was so pleased with Avedis’s cymbals that he gave him the last name Zildjian, which means “cymbal maker” in Armenian. Today most cymbal manufacturers use a copper and tin mixture like Avedis did to make cymbals. But Avedis had come up with a special way of processing these materials. The Zildjian family continued crafting cymbals, passing down Avedis’s method from generation to generation. Eventually, the family moved to the United States, where they’ve been making cymbals since 1928. At the Zildjian factory in Norwell, Massachusetts, Avedis’s alloy is still created using his top-secret technique—in a room that few people are permitted to enter.

The Zildjian family got involved with cymbals by accident. In 1618, an Armenian ancestor named Avedis lived in an area of Europe in the Ottoman Empire. This area is now part of Türkiye. Avedis was an ancient chemist called an alchemist. He was searching for a way to turn common metals into gold. Instead, he ended up with an alloy. This metal mixture was made of copper (Cu) and tin (Sn).

Avedis’s alloy produced a clear, powerful sound when struck. So he used it to craft cymbals for the ruler’s military bands. The atoms in a metal have an orderly structure. That means “they’re able to hold a lot of vibrational energy and release it for a long period of time,” explains Owen. When a cymbal is hit, it produces sound waves of many different frequencies. These are different rates of vibration (see “Parts of a Sound Wave”). Our ears hear these frequencies as different pitches. Together they sound like a lingering, crashing ring.

The ruler was very pleased with Avedis’s cymbals. So he gave him the last name Zildjian. That means “cymbal maker” in Armenian. Today most cymbal manufacturers use a copper and tin mixture in their cymbals, like Avedis did. But Avedis created a special way to process these materials. The Zildjian family continued crafting cymbals. They passed down Avedis’s method from generation to generation. Finally the family moved to the United States. They’ve been making cymbals here since 1928. The Zildjian factory in Norwell, Massachusetts, still uses Avedis’s top-secret method. His alloy is created in a room there. And few people are allowed to enter it.

In the secret room at the Zildjian factory, metalworkers mix and mold the alloy into thick, dull-looking metal discs. Then they are shaped in the main factory. There, workers still follow the same basic steps Avedis used 400 years ago, but with modern machinery (see “Six Steps to Making a Cymbal”). First, the discs are heated so they become malleable, or easy to shape, and pressed to different thicknesses. Thicker cymbals create more powerful sounds. “You’ve got to hit it harder to get it vibrating,” says Guy Licata, Zildjian’s former global innovation manager and a drummer. “You’re moving more mass, so you’re getting more amplitude, aka a louder volume.” A thinner cymbal requires less energy from the musician to start vibrating and isn’t as loud.

A machine then presses a raised area, called a bell, into the center of each cymbal. A bigger bell allows a cymbal to sustain its sound longer and produce a wider range of overtones, or multiple overlaid frequencies of sound. Another machine hammers patterns into the metal. Different textures produce different sounds. A consistent pattern allows sound waves to move evenly through the metal, creating a clearer, brighter sound. Other Zildjian cymbals are hammered with a random pattern. “Sound moving through the metal is interrupted in a more random kind of way,” says Licata. The result is a mix of irregular frequencies that drummers refer to as “trashy.” The cymbals are also trimmed to the right diameter and curved into the correct profile for the desired sound.

In the secret room at the Zildjian factory, metalworkers mix the alloy. They mold it into thick, dull-looking metal discs. Then the discs are shaped in the main factory. There, workers follow Avedis’s same basic steps from 400 years ago. But they use modern machinery (see “Six Steps to Making a Cymbal”). First, the discs are heated to make them malleable, or easy to shape. They’re pressed to different thicknesses. Thicker cymbals create more powerful sounds. “You’ve got to hit it harder to get it vibrating,” says Guy Licata. He’s Zildjian’s former global innovation manager and a drummer. “You’re moving more mass, so you’re getting more amplitude, aka a louder volume.” A thinner cymbal needs less energy from the musician to start vibrating. It isn’t as loud.

Then a machine presses a raised area into the center of each cymbal. It’s called a bell. A bigger bell makes a cymbal’s sound last longer. It also produces a wider range of overtones, or layers of sound frequencies. Another machine hammers patterns into the metal. Different textures produce different sounds. A regular pattern allows sound waves to move evenly through the metal. That creates a clearer, brighter sound. Other Zildjian cymbals get a random hammer pattern. “Sound moving through the metal is interrupted in a more random kind of way,” says Licata. The result is a mix of irregular frequencies. Drummers refer to this sound as “trashy.” The cymbals are also trimmed and curved. A different diameter or profile will result in a different sound.

The next step requires skilled artisans who’ve spent a minimum of four to five years mastering their craft. As a cymbal spins on a device called a lathe, an artisan holds a cutting tool against it to shave metal from the surface. They might remove material evenly throughout the cymbal or leave more weight closer to the bell or the edge, changing the cymbal’s sound. They can also add grooves. A grooved cymbal produces more frequencies than a smooth one. That’s because a smoother surface has “fewer peaks and troughs for a sound wave to move through,” says Licata.

A tester strikes each finished cymbal with a drumstick and listens to make sure its sound falls within the correct range. Because cymbals are so complex, Licata calls them “sculptures that contain multitudes.”

The next step requires skilled artisans. They’ve spent at least four to five years mastering their craft. A cymbal spins on a device called a lathe. An artisan holds a cutting tool against it to shave metal from the surface. They might remove material evenly across the cymbal. Or they might leave more weight closer to the bell or the edge. This changes the cymbal’s sound. They can also add grooves. A grooved cymbal produces more frequencies than a smooth one. That’s because a smoother surface has “fewer peaks and troughs for a sound wave to move through,” says Licata.

Each finished cymbal is tested. A tester strikes it with a drumstick and listens. Its sound must fall within the correct range. Cymbals are very complex. Licata calls them “sculptures that contain multitudes.”

As music changed over time, the Zildjian family tweaked their cymbals to produce the sounds musicians wanted. For example, jazz musicians in the 1930s wanted lighter cymbals with smoother tones. Decades later, rock music started to take off. Its high volume and strong beat required cymbals with a more penetrating ring.

Today Zildjian continues to develop new cymbals for emerging musical genres. The company currently makes more than 400 different types. All of them are created using Avedis’s centuries-old process. But the real secret to the company’s success may be its willingness to adapt to the changing needs of musicians. As Licata says, “We follow the music.”

Music changed over time. Musicians wanted new sounds, and the Zildjian family tweaked their cymbals to produce them. For example, jazz became popular in the 1930s. Jazz musicians wanted lighter cymbals with smoother tones. Decades later, rock music took off. It featured high volume and a strong beat. So it needed cymbals with a more forceful ring.

Zildjian still develops new cymbals for new kinds of music. The company now makes more than 400 different types. All of them are created with Avedis’s centuries-old process. The company is willing to adapt to the changing needs of musicians. And that may be the real secret to Zildjian’s success. As Licata says, “We follow the music.”