Cymbal is a brass percussion instrument shaped like a broad-brimmed hat. The center of a cymbal resembles the crown of a hat. A musician may hold the cymbal by a leather handle attached to the center or hang the instrument on a stand. A player can produce tones that vary in quality by striking two cymbals together or by striking one cymbal with a mallet. The mallet may be made of metal or wood, and some mallets are covered with felt or yarn.
Cymbals are made in many sizes. Most musicians prefer cymbals that measure from 12 to 22 inches (30 to 56 centimeters) in diameter. Cymbals vary in thickness as well as diameter, and no two sound exactly alike.
Cymballike objects were found in the ruins of the Indus Valley civilization, which arose in what are now Pakistan and northwestern India about 2500 B.C. The cymbal was first used by an orchestra in an opera in 1680 in Hamburg, Germany. The Zildjian Company in the United States manufactures the most widely used cymbals in the world. The company has been making cymbals by a secret method since 1623.
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