In cymbal making, taper refers to the gradual change in thickness from the bell to the rim of the

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

. It is one of the key features that determines the

tone Tone may refer to: Visual arts and color-related * Tone (color theory), a mix of tint and shade, in painting and color theory * Tone (color), the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a color * Toning (coin), color change in coins * ...

of the cymbal. This change is typically not uniform, and it is extremely difficult to generalise on the effects of taper, just to say that they are profound.

Crash cymbal A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to a ride cymbal. It can be mounted on a stand and played with a drum stick, or by hand in clash cymbals, pairs. One ...

s tend to have the most pronounced taper, with the faster crashes and the richer tones the most pronounced of all. The bell of a paperthin crash or a fast crash can be thicker than that of many ride cymbals. On the other hand,

china cymbal China type cymbals from three continents In western music, a China cymbal (or Chinese cymbal) is a distinct type of cymbal designed to produce a bright, crisp, and explosive tone that has brought it the nickname ''trash cymbal''. The name "China ...

s tend to have little or no taper, as do the heavy to medium weights of

splash cymbal In a drum kit, splash cymbals are the smallest accent cymbals, often a smaller derivative of the more common crash cymbals. Splash cymbals and china cymbals are the main types of effects cymbals. The most common sized splash has a diameter of 10" ...

References

Cymbals {{Cymbal-stub