Even though striking cymbals seems simple enough, it does have its own special techniques. As mentioned above, you need to swipe the stick instead of striking it head-on. Despite that, they are still quite easy to learn once you get the hang of the basics. There are three basic techniques:  The flam stroke The sizzle stroke The slide stroke The most important part of playing the cymbals is positioning your body correctly. Producing the sound itself is quite easy, but mastering the body and arm movements is the tricky part. Like all things, of course, it takes time and practice to master this art form.