Topic: 'Pinging glass' - what does it do??

[Max]

I've never pinged a glass in my life!  Well, unless I'm worried it's cracked or something, in which case it gives more of a dull thud instead of a ring.  I just don't get the whole pinging glass thing.  Does anyone actually use it to any effect?  Maybe you could tell a crystal glass from an ordinary glass, but you could tell that by weight instead....

[flying free]

is crystal always heavier Max? I have never known how you would tell.  I 'ping' my some of my glass but only if it's bowl- shaped lol, then if it's a good 'un gives off a lovely ring 
m

[Helen]

I've never pinged a glass in my life!  Well, unless I'm worried it's cracked or something, in which case it gives more of a dull thud instead of a ring.  I just don't get the whole pinging glass thing.  Does anyone actually use it to any effect?  Maybe you could tell a crystal glass from an ordinary glass, but you could tell that by weight instead....

You should give it a try then Max, you can get some beautiful sounds . I use the 'ping' to try and ascertain if there are any flaws in the glass but maybe I've also been brainwashed by my Dad who believed that a good 'ring' from a 'ping' was a sign of quality.

[glassobsessed]

I have never been convinced by the 'ping thing' and rarely flick items with my finger. One day someone is going to break something doing that and not their fingernail....

The quality of the sound produced when pinging will be a result of the shape and the tendency for the material to resonate and not 'quality'. No doubt different types of glass will ring and resonate differently but to compare accurately you would need identical items made from the different materials. The older we get the more insensitive our hearing becomes too. :spls:

On the other hand, if you enjoy pinging things I don't want to be a killjoy.

John

[Lustrousstone]

I always do the pinging thing a) because it's a good way to tell if you've got lead crystal (particularly handy with "dating" in the loosest sense Victorian pressed glass) and b) because some pieces make such lovely rings.

[Paul S.]

Couldn't agree more with Lustrousstone (I don't always ) - If you have never pinged one of the W/Fs bowls - some lead crystal water jugs - a drinking glass or two, you really haven't lived Max  -  where else can you hear a sound so pure and beautiful?   Some pings seem to go on for ever, although it has to be said, of course, that shape does help to extend the ring.    I guess those people who collect pressed glass only are missing a real treat    

[Max]

lol @ pinging pressed glass! 

Is pinging related in any way to running a damp finger around the rim of a glass and making it sing?  Er...if you haven't done that, then you won't know what I'm talking about!

Erm...might have to split this off in a moment...   :t:

[dirk.]

My friend Georg is always (well, counting the last 8 years) giving an organ concert on the
last hour of the year. We always have other instruments involved as well - some traditional
music for flute and organ for example, but also we usually make an improvisation with
various instruments like chineses gongs, singing bowls etc...
The year before last however we started the concert with the silent ringing of some of my
stemware...  
It´s a lovely old 13-14th century church with great acoustics and on these concerts it´s only
lit with candles. The effect of these silent, little pings was great and somewhat ´beyond´.

[Ivo]

a tap with the knuckle will tell me if the item is glass, semi-crystal or lead crystal so I find it useful.

[flying free]

Ivo!!!!    how do you tell the difference between semi-lead crystal and lead crystal?  does it have a different ring? does the 'ping' not last as long?  I can only tell the difference between a 'thud' of glass and the 'ring' of something that is not as thick and is bowl-shaped lol , but I don't actually know what the sound tells me.