To get emphasis and attention for a particular note in music, nothing beats the “crash-bang” of a good pair of cymbal played with energy Him with loud and flair. I like the way David puts it in Psalm 150:5: “Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals!” (NKJV). Wow, there is nothing somber or reserved about this method of praising God. Clearly the cymbals mentioned in this passage are not the tiny finger cymbals or zills originating in Turkey. They must be the big brassy noisy cymbals that we find and love in major symphony orchestras today. “Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty firmament!” (Verse 1, NKJV). But then, maybe that was one reason God picked David out as a “man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14, NKJV). David had a history of praising God “with all his might.”
With many originating in Turkey, the major cymbal manufacturers such as Paiste, Zildjian, Sabian, and Meinl Percussion carefully design their cymbals to have a wide range of sounds rather than always being bright and sassy. The best are cast from various formulations of bell bronze (the bronze that bells and gongs are made from) generally consisting of 80 percent copper and 20 percent tin and sometimes with traces of other additives. Then after casting, some are hammered and/or lathed to get the right thickness and tone. Less-expensive cymbals are easily pressed from sheets of malleable bronze with less than 10 percent tin. Even with hammering and lathing, they don’t have the depth of sound of the cast cymbals.
An expert percussionist uses cymbals in many ways. The clashing cymbals of Psalm 150 can easily be heard over the sound of a full orchestra at fff (“fortissimo possibile”), meaning as loud or as strong as possible. Some lovingly refer to this dynamic as “blastissimo.” Besides loud “clashing,” cymbals can also be made to “tap-clash” by tapping an edge of one against the body of another, to “scrape” by scraping the edge of one from the inside out on another, to “sizzle” by rubbing their thin edges together, or to “hi-hat chick” by bringing two cymbals together strongly and holding them tightly together to choke off the sound.
Incredible levels of technology and hard work come together to make a good pair of cymbals, resulting in a particularly appropriate instrument for praising God.
Lord, search me and know the depth and honesty of my praise.