Becken

As Printed on a Score

The German name on cymbal staves (Becken; Beck. later), often sharing a staff with the bass drum. A clashed pair is the default; freihängend (hanging freely) means a suspended cymbal, with the stick named — mit Schwammschlägeln, sponge-headed sticks — and klingen lassen lets the sound ring.

Abbreviations: Beck.

How Composers Use It

Becken covers both the clashed pair and the single suspended cymbal, so a German score has to say which, and with what. A clashed pair gives the climax; a suspended cymbal rolled with soft sticks gives a swell from nothing. Mahler also fastens a cymbal to the bass drum in his funeral march so that one player strikes both. Mark klingen lassen or gedämpft so the player knows how long the sound should last.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement (Trauermarsch), cymbal part, m. 144: “Becken freihängend” with “mit Schwammschlägen.” — a suspended cymbal played with sponge-headed sticks, followed by pp in the next bar.

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