How to Play the Ride and Wash Areas of a Drum Kit

Two common functions of cymbals on your drum set are wash and ride, which are effects that produce two distinct types of sound. Three types of cymbals should be present on your basic drum set. The high hat is the cymbal you play with a pedal, but the two that will concern you for wash and ride are the ride cymbal and the crash cymbal.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drum set with crash and ride cymbals

1. Find the sweet spot on your ride cymbal for producing a sustained but clear sound. The sweet spot should be between the edge and the start of the dome. Use this spot consistently for all of your grips and strokes.

2. Combine the sustained sound of the ride cymbal with the time keeping function by playing a stead beat on the ride cymbal. Typically you will keep a beat with one stick on the ride cymbal between drumming, but practice just keeping time on the ride cymbal with a metronome.

3. Find the wash area on your crash cymbal. The wash area should be close to the edge of the cymbal. Wash is the most common function of playing cymbals while drumming.

4. Listen to the wash sound and note the noise interference. Because the wash area of the cymbal is noisier than the inner area of the cymbal, you can't keep time on the wash as you can on the ride cymbal.

5. Play the wash area with the side of the drum stick rather than the tip for a more controlled and subdued sound. Experiment with different wash effects on your cymbals.