An interesting way to grab people's attention

January 9, 2009 7:26 PM

What instrument is this?

When I was a senior in high school, my humanities teacher invited a guest speaker to our class. To start off the speech, he banged two small cymbals together and was able to control the pitch of the ring by moving each cymbal up and down. I thought that it was sooooo cool and having this instrument nowadays could be a great way to start off meetings and grab attention. What is this instrument?

My memory could be fading. The cymbals could have been bells or metal sticks. I think it may have something to do with meditation.

My google/youtube search has led me to believe that they may have been tingsha cymbals. Can anyone verify this? I could not find any confirmation that moving the cymbals up and down could control the pitch.

posted by cusr0002 to media & arts (4 comments total)

You can actually do this with any cymbals (or actually any broadband audio source).

You clang them together, and then vary the spacing between them (or the source and a board, or maybe the ground in the case of hanging cymbals like the tingshas). The emphasized frequency is related to the distance between the two cymbals. Basically, you're selectively reinforcing a particular wavelength of sound by changing the resonance of the space between the cymbals.

So, if those look like the right kind of cymbals, they probably are. As for making them do the effect you're talking about... practice. But, I promise that it's not simply elevation that produces the effect... you'll need a hard floor or a table or something to bounce the sound off of.
posted by Netzapper at 7:52 PM on January 9

In my understand that isn't strictly how they're used in Buddhist traditions (thus the lack of evidence), but (with my high school physics understanding of acoustics) I think it makes sense that they would behave that way. It would have more to do with moving the two ringing cymbals together and away from one another than it would with the simple motion. Though I can't seem to place it, I distinctly recall seeing someone do something similar with a set of them before.
posted by papercup_mixmaster at 7:52 PM on January 9

Actually, as I think about it... you can do it non-resonantly, too, if they're in tune.

As you move them to appropriate distances apart, the harmonics from each will reinforce the other. You could do this from a much larger distance than the couple inches usually needed for the resonant approach.

But, it's kinda fun to do either way... for a similar resonant effect, tune a small radio (with speaker) to white noise. Pick up the radio, and point the speaker at the table. Move it to within about an inch of the surface. Vary the distance, and listen to the results. I met a dude who played a tiny concert for me in this manner.

(It helps if you're on acid.)
posted by Netzapper at 8:03 PM on January 9 [2 favorites]

I have a pair of tingsha cymbals and yes, they do this. In fact, between the last sentence and this one, I did it. Sounded awesome.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:43 PM on January 10