10 Ride Cymbal Sounds You'll Start Using NOW

_______________ 10 Ride Cymbal Sounds You'll Start Using NOW --

So often, we hit our ride cymbal and just assume "that's the sound I get". But today I want to go in depth on ride cymbals and the sounds you can get from them. In this short drum lesson, I show you 10 very distinct sounds you can get from your ride cymbal. Each cymbal is a unique instrument and offers us a wealth of sonic possibilities if we will just spend a little time searching them out.

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
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Cymbal Setup From Left To Right:

All Zildjian

Hats:
16" EFX Crash on top
16" K Light Top Hat on bottom

18" Kerope Crash

22" K Custom Dark Complex Ride

22" Renaissance Ride

Drums:
Tama Starclassic Bubinga with Tiger Wood finish

Sticks:
Vic Firth 5A

Drumheads:
Aquarian
Classic Clear on toms and snare resonant
Response 2 on toms batter
Hi-Velocity on snare batter
Regularor (Ebony) on kick resonant
Super Kick 10 on kick batter

Alclair In Ear Monitors

[TheBorabosal]

10 ways to hit your ride:
1. "Tinkle" (hit edge of cymbal w/ shaft of stick perpendicularly)
2. Crash
3. Bell w/ tip (move up or down to top/bottom of bell)
4. Bell w/ shaft
5. Bell w/ "sweet spot" between tip and shaft.
6. Body w/ tip
7. Body w/ shaft
8. Body Zone 1 (very edge of body)
9. Body Zone 2 (middle of body)
10. Body Zone 3 (near bell)

[zachsmith]

Hey Stephen. Could you make a video from a gigging drummer’s point of view of what you want musically and logistically from your band mates? What you want from the bass player, guitar player, vocalist, etc. on the gig? Thanks!

[ultradrums]

One of my favorite sound from the ride cymbals is when you take the tip of the drumstick and position on top of the cymbal, scrape downwards with force. In doing so, the scraping creates a unique screeching sound. 😁🥁

[ElvisRocking]

I like the one where you use the tip and the shaft of the stick when playing quarter notes on the Hi hat. Like you switch in between after every note. I feel like its adds a lot of flavor.

[permpress]

Another sound(s) is to turn the stick around and use the butt end on the ride. Gives a kind of cool different hollow-ish sort of sound. Besides, "butt" might be more a manly word than "tinkle." :-o

[anonymous-hkge]

Or you could be like me: Aim for the ride and hope I hit it

[ericgelders]

All these different tones - cool! As an avid music listener, now I now that the bell with 'sweet spot on the stick' is my favourite ride cymbal in many rock songs I know!

[BrianHoard]

Stephen - you are an amazing teacher. Just saw an older video you did on Drumeo, where you got into some life lessons as well. Love everything you are doing, I learn a lot from you! I was a drummer in the late 70s, through mid 80s, and some in Air Force drum & bugle corps. It was my life then. My drums have been in an attic untouched for over 20 years. Now, I'm playing again in our church band. These old Zildjian A's sound so good. I forgot how much I loved drumming. I've heard cymbals get better with age. So I have no excuses now. Peace.

[markkens]

The ride sound I accidentally found on a friend's set, give it a good whack, put your ear next to the edge...love that humming resonace as the vibe damps out

[StephenTaylorDrums]

New drum lessons and some surprises coming next week!

So often, we hit our ride cymbal and just assume "that's the sound I get". But today I want to go in depth on ride cymbals and the sounds you can get from them. In this short drum lesson, I show you 10 very distinct sounds you can get from your ride cymbal. Each cymbal is a unique instrument and offers us a wealth of sonic possibilities if we will just spend a little time searching them out.

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

[Alexltriz]

I'm a composer, not a drummer (although I love percussion in general…). I use to write every single strike of the drum parts of my arrangements and my drummers seem to like those things that I write. My question is: how would you notate these different examples you have shown?

[paulbrown]

Loving the 3 bell sounds in one here! Great guidance as always, cheers!

[codybear]

Honestly the best lesson I got from SDS was how to learn. And once you get the principles behind learning the drums, you can learn anything. It's done a lot for me in my life.

[MrDoodleGER]

I use the Kiko Freitas Signature Ride. It's one of the best cymbals I ever had, extremely versatile Ride.

[ivannio]

Great washy ride there. "Anatolian Velvet ride" -and" Istanbul Mehmet Legend sizzle ride", both 20" - is what I´m happy with. Tried a lot of others as well because I did not know what would work for me. After playing guitars and other instruments for half a century I became interested in playing drums two years ago and got totally hooked from day one :) Thank you for lots of good ideas and pleasant attitudes.

[rnjesus]

I’ve got a 21” A Custom crash that I use all these on. I’ve got two other k custom medium thin crashes, but that A Custom can morph into really anything I need it to be beside a super dry ride, which I guess tape could solve if I ever needed it.

[GOLDSMITHEXILE]

I fell in love with HH duo cymbals when I discovered that when you use the full belly of a stick on "zone 2" that 20 inch ride ROARS like a giant rumbling sound control crash with tons of mid range and low end that you FEEL. Enough energy to remove paint from the walls. leopard crashes are very similar, dry and dark

[langadubazana]

I've got a K Custom Medium Ride and what I love most about it, from the specific way it has aged, is that when I play with tip of the stick on the face of the cymbal I get different sounds the more I go around the cymbal. So that's a multitude of sounds from just ONE of the sounds you've shown to us. (I'm to scared clean it because I think it will change the sound)

[hiptoalieu]

I Just got a TRX DRK Icon Series 22'' crash/ride!!!! It's got a tremendous amount of wash for being an UNLATHED cymbal and a LOVELY dry, jazzy woody stick sound! It's going to be my main ride for... R&B Acoustic Pop, Funk, Neo Sou, Be Bop, Modern Jazz, and Singer Songwriter and Blues! I've gotten about 18 sounds out of it!

[samerkamal]

Great video. For some reason i read it 10 ride cymbals u will start using now