Ching: Cambodia musical instrument

The ching are small bowl-shaped finger cymbals that are made of thick and heavy bronze and with a broad rim. The musical instrument is normally used in Cambodia and Thailand. They are made of an alloy that is mixed with bronze.  The ching measure about 2 inches in diameter and can be joined together with a cord that will pass through a small hole at the apex of each one of them. Each cymbal of the pair of instrument is held in one hand and the two are struck together against each other. The musical instrument is the time keeper of any group that it is found in.

source: en.wikipedia.org

In general, the ching is used for many occasions like ritual, martial theatre and at war. The Khmer people also use the instrument purely in theatre, dance and music contexts. The cymbals give out open sounds and closed sounds which are “chhing and chhepp” marked accordingly by the sign of (o) and (+) in transcription. For the player of this musical instrument to produce the open sound, he will have to hit both cymbals and holding them together and this will dampen the sound that is coming out of the cymbals. The open and closed sounds of the instrument mark the unaccented (o) as well as the accented beats in the real music making.