Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine: Cymbals

1
CYMBALS
Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine
As a cymbal player, expect to be pushed to your limits. Expect to hold your cymbals up
for long periods of time.
The following is the main workout routine used by the SCV cymbal line. It has proven to
be an extremely effective way of building strength if done correctly. You might not be
able to start with the same number of push-ups or holding times listed below, and that’s
okay! Be sure to start at your level and build your way up from there. You will need a
stopwatch or timer so that you can time yourself.
1. Drop down to the push-up position with your arms spread wide apart. Do 20 to 30
push-ups, keeping your body straight and doing every push-up at a moderate
pace. Do not try to get through these push-ups as fast as you can!
2. Immediately after finishing your push-ups, get up and put your cymbals on -- with
no time for rest! Go to Flat position and hold your cymbals there for 1 to 2
minutes.
3. Rest for no more then 3 minutes
4. Repeat Step 1, but this time do the push-ups with your elbows to your side.
5. Repeat Step 2, but this time hold your cymbals at Port position.
6. Rest for no more then 3 minutes.
7. Repeat Step 1, but now put your hands close together in front of you, making a
diamond shape.
8. Repeat Step 2, but now hold your cymbals at Tap position.
9. Rest for no more then 3 minutes.
10. Do as many push-ups as you can! (doesn’t matter which kind…)
11. Get up immediately after the push-ups and hold your cymbals at Port as long as
you can.
It’s a good idea to time yourself every time to see how long you can hold them up and
how you’re progressing over time.
The purpose of this exercise is to give you the opportunity to constantly push yourself to
the limit. As time goes by and you begin to see your strength and endurance increase,
you should increase the number of push-ups and the amount of time you spend holding
your cymbals up in different positions.
2
Introduction to marching cymbals:
Contrary to some schools of thought, percussion technique does not have to be “forced”
or “hard.” Just as it’s possible to over-blow a wind instrument, it’s also possible to
overplay percussion instruments, distorting the sound quality. We take a very relaxed,
real-world approach to playing cymbals which is applicable to many areas of
percussion, not just marching. Essentially you should find a GROOVE in everything you
play so it FLOWS. Not just “groovy” music but even more abstract, sparse music has
checkpoints that allow you to find some form of “pocket” if you approach it the right way.
Strive to stay completely relaxed from the neck, through the shoulders and arms, all the
way down to the fingers. It is very easy to see and hear when a player is not relaxed.
Tension affects sound quality and disrupts the flow of the music. Although chops are a
necessity at the levels we strive for, sound quality is key.
Having said that, the cymbal techniques that we will use this season will require you to
use quite a bit of muscle. The cymbals themselves carry a decent amount of weight and
if you are somewhat lacking in upper-body strength, you will find most of these
techniques to be quite physically challenging. Proper conditioning is essential to your
ability to play the cymbals correctly.
THE GARFIELD GRIP:
Potentially one of the most important concepts to grasp onto is the grip. We use a
technique known as the Garfield Grip. It allows for enhanced control of the cymbals and
essentially allows for the cymbals to be extensions of your hands.
Follow the step-by-step instructions below to set your hands in the straps. The strap will
fell tight when you do this, but never force your hand into an awkward position. If you
are having trouble getting your hands into the straps, simply adjust the strap for more
room. Conversely, if there appears to be too much room in the strap, simply take some
of the slack out.
3
THE POSITIONS:
In the cymbal line, we operate out of five basic positions illustrated as follows:
1) SET POSITION – This is the position that the

group arrives at when starting or finishing an
exercise or piece of music. There are other
instances in which this position is used, but these
are the most common. Notice the elbows are
slightly bent and the wrist is as straight as
possible, following the path of the forearm. This
helps keep the cymbals parallel to each other,
and perpendicular to the floor, which is the look
we want. The shoulders and other upper-body
muscles are relaxed, but also engaged.
2) RELAXED POSITION – This is the position the
line stands in while waiting for something, such
as instructions, when the group wants to
maintain a uniform look. The cymbals are
positioned flat against the lower body, right over
left, with the edge of the right cymbal tucked
under the pad of the left. Feet are shoulder-width
apart in this position.
3) FLAT POSITION – This is the position that we
work most out of. From this position, we can take
care of most all the necessary cymbal techniques
that we use, such as flat crashes, crash chokes,
orchestral crashes, sizzles, sizz/sucks, and hi hat
chokes.
4) PORT POSITION – This is a secondary position
that we also use. This position is achieved by
raising the cymbals straight out in front of you so
that your hands are even with your eyes. From
here, we can play port crashes, eval crashes,
sizzles, sizz/suck, taps, dings, and zings.
5) CHOKE POSITION – This position is achieved
by hugging both cymbals into the sides of your
abdominals as shown. You will use this position
when performing crash chokes and clicks.
4
THE FLAM:
The flam is a basic concept of our cymbal

technique that is adopted from the world-
renown cymbal section of the Santa Clara
Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps. This “flam” is
something that will occur in some fashion on
every single cymbal crash that is played.
The picture to the left illustrates the point of
contact that we would want to shoot for in
order to achieve this “flam” with an orchestra
crash from flat position. In this case, you’re aiming for the first contact to be made by the
right side edge of the right cymbal about 3 inches inside the right edge of the left
cymbal. Ideally, once this contact has been made, the crashing of the cymbals
themselves happens immediately after, in the same way that an accent note of a flam
played on the snare drum immediately follows the grace note. This technique allows you
to achieve maximum volume with both cymbals, while exerting only a moderate amount
of force.
THE ORCHESTRAL CRASH:
This type of crash can be played at

either flat or port position. If played at
port position, it is called an Eval.
Beginning from flat position, move
the right edges of the cymbals away
from each other first, then using a “wave” motion bring those edges back toward each
other, aiming to hit a flam as pictured above. When the cymbals make contact, be sure
to straighten your fingers so that the sound of the cymbals is dampened as little as
possible. Finally, immediately following the crash, perform the same wave motion again,
keeping the fingers straight while the cymbals vibrate, and return to flat position.
5
THE FLAT CRASH:
This is probably the most frequently used of the crashes. This crash uses three very
sharp and distinct movements: 1) The Prep 2) The Crash 3) The Release.
For the prep, you do two things: 1) with the right arm, pull the cymbal all the way back
past your shoulder in one sharp and crisp movement. At the same time, slightly cock
your left wrist upward, giving yourself a flam target on the left cymbal.
For the crash, you will explode your right arm forward, aiming to contact the left cymbal
about 3 inches away from the far edge with the right cymbal. This will ensure you get a
quality flam and therefore, a quality crash. You will continue to thrust the cymbal forward
until your right arm is completely straight, while straightening your fingers at contact.
For the release, quickly bring the cymbals back to flat position, while keeping the fingers
straight to preserve the vibration of the cymbals.
THE SIZZ/SUCK
The sizz/suck can be played in either port (above) or flat position. The Sizzle is
performed by carefully crashing the cymbals and holding them close to one another in a
way that allows them to vibrate against each other for several seconds. You will want to
straighten your fingers to achieve maximum resonance. The suck is performed by
forcefully sliding the right cymbal downward into the left until you create a “vacuum”
pocket with the two cymbals that quickly eliminates all sound. You can aid this by
clamping down on the cymbals with your fingers.
6
DINGS:
Dings are played by hitting the top portion of the

underside of the left cymbal bell with the edge of
the right cymbal. It is very important that you
contact the correct part of the bell to achieve the
desired sound. Again, try to straighten your fingers
to avoid dampening either cymbal.
CLICKS:
Clicks are performed from choke position by simply tapping

the underside of the right cymbal onto the edge of the left. The
result is a muted “click” sound.
ZINGS:
Zings start by contacting the cymbals at

the same point that you do with dings,
only instead you will drag the edge of
the right cymbal along the underside of
the left cymbal, trying to dig into every
groove along the way. The result is a
very shimmering sound effect.
TAPS:
Taps are performed in a modified port position where you tilt

the tops of both cymbals toward each other and “tap” the
underside of the right cymbal onto the edge of the left to
simulate the sound of a stick hitting the cymbal.
TAP CHOKES:
Tap chokes are a more aggressive version of the tap where you execute a forceful tap
and then immediately bringing the cymbals to choke position, dampening all sound. The
far edges of the cymbal are typically used with these.
7
CRASH CHOKES:
Crash chokes are usually a flat crash that ends at choke position immediately after the
cymbals are crashed. This is one of the most aggressive cymbal techniques when done
properly.
HI HAT CHOKES:
Performed in flat position, hi hat chokes are performed by

opening and closing the cymbals together with the edges
lined up so that the sound produced resembles that of a hi
hat on a drum set.
Over the years, cymbals have developed a common

stereotype of being one of the easiest instruments to play in
the marching ensemble. This is a TERRIBLE STEREOTPYE. The truth is just the
opposite. You can clearly see that, like any other percussion instrument, cymbals have
an almost endless amount of intricacies. This combined with the sheer physical demand
makes cymbals a very difficult instrument to truly master. There are indeed many more
techniques than the ones contained in this portion of the handbook, but all of those
contained should serve as a basic foundation for any potential cymbal player to grow
upon.
SPECIAL CYMBAL NOTATION:
Cymbal Technique Packet Version 1.0

Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine: Cymbals

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine: Cymbals

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine: Cymbals

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Strength Conditioning: Cymbal Line Workout Routine

Introduction to marching cymbals:

THE GARFIELD GRIP:

1) SET POSITION – This is the position that the

The flam is a basic concept of our cymbal

THE ORCHESTRAL CRASH:

This type of crash can be played at

THE FLAT CRASH:

Dings are played by hitting the top portion of the

Clicks are performed from choke position by simply tapping

Zings start by contacting the cymbals at

Taps are performed in a modified port position where you tilt

Performed in flat position, hi hat chokes are performed by

Over the years, cymbals have developed a common

SPECIAL CYMBAL NOTATION:

Cymbal Technique Packet Version 1.0

You might also like