Cymbals have been used since about 3000 BC and are well known to exhibit strongly nonlinear behavior, largely due to high amplitude impacts. The nonlinearity causes the spectral energy to be broadband as opposed to tonal. Thus, at low amplitudes, when nonlinear effects are small, the cymbal would be expected to vibrate and radiate sound quite differently than at high amplitudes. To better understand how nonlinearity affects the sound radiation of the cymbal, a series of directivity tests are being planned with low and high force strikes. To perform these directivity tests, an automated striking device was modified to better control the amplitude of each strike. The repeatability of the low and high force strikes will be examined in terms of amplitude, duration, and spectral response of the cymbal.
Bergerud et al. (Wed,) studied this question.