I'm a pit percussionist who's recently had the opportunity to play Cymbals for pre-game and stands, what should I know? I feel pretty stupid asking, but I figured I should since I would've just 'hit them together' and from what I hear in another thread... that's a really unintelligent way to look at it.

So, what's the terminology, and what does it all sound like? How do I know if I'm doing something right? How do I do a Hi Hat sound... like, techno Hat..?

(by the way, yes It is pathetic that I'm asking. There's two snares, four basses, and a single Quint player. And three pit percussionists, myself being the only mallet player. And my school hasn't seen a percussion instructor since before I was even in the program, so I really don't know what I'm doing.)

www.cymbaltechnique101.com

Anything you want to know about Cymbals, right there. It's worth it. Trust me.

Also, to make a hi-hat sound:
Set your right cymbal atop of your left cymbal, bring both cymbals to your chest, stomach, waist, feet, what-have-you, lift up your right hand at an angle, letting the part of the cymbal furthest away from you rise about two or three inches, and then bring it down.

Crappy description. But making a hi-hat sound is rather self explanatory.

Well, like a 'tsss' sound.... like hitting a hi hat with a stick...

EDIT - I don't know that the book is really what I need at this stage. I'm not really going for hard-core cymbal player, I just don't want to look like an idiot at football games in front of other bands with cymbal lines.

I'll prolly get the book after I graduate though, in taking a percussion studies major.

oh, you mean a sizzle . . .

Well, the book isn't all about being hardcore. It teaches basic technique. It breaks everything down, and even teaches you about the cymbal itself. How to strap it, wear it, tighten it, etc.

but yeah. sizzle. lightly press the right cymbal onto the left one. Don't put too much pressure (Or it'll just choke off), and don't be too light (Or it'll sound sloppy). Just play around with the cymbals at your school. Figure out how to make different sounds. It's not that hard, if you're just going to play cymbals in the stand to accompany stand-cadences.

Check this out. It shows actual demonstrations for 41 techniques.

http://jeffkozol.com/_wsn/page4.html

What about how you hold the Cymbals? Do you just put your hand in and twist the cymbal around, or is there a more proper way to do it?

Yeah, put your hand through the hole, then twist your hand around so the strap goes between your thumb and index. If it doesn't feel comfortable, you might have to adjust the strap.

I'm also learning cymbals....what else can you recommend doing that will make it as easy as possible...Thanks

http://www.tcaiperc.org/

Check out the cymbal packet, it has a lot of good info.

The packet helped a lot