Ching (instrument)

The ching (Khmer: ឈឹង; Thai: ฉิ่ง, IPA: [tɕʰìŋ]; sometimes romanized as chhing) are small bowl-shaped finger cymbals of thick and heavy bronze, with a broad rim commonly used in Cambodia and Thailand. They are made of an alloy (mixture of iron, copper, and gold) mixed with bronze. They measure about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter and are joined together with a cord, which passes through a small hole at the apex of each one of them. Each cymbal of the pair is held in one hand and the two are struck together. The ching are the timekeepers of the ensemble.

While cymbals, in general, are used for various occasions (ritual, martial, theater, and at war), the Khmer people use them purely in theater, dance, and music contexts. They produce open and closed sounds—chhing and chhepp—marked respectively by the signs (o) and (+) in transcriptions. To produce the open sound—chhing—the cymbal in the right hand hits the other in the left with an outward sliding motion, while the closed sound—chhepp—is produced by hitting both cymbals and holding them together; thus dampening the sound. The chhing and chhepp or open and closed sounds of the ching mark the unaccented (o) and accented (+) beats in the actual music making.

External links

• Instruments of the Ensemble - Chhing