Timpani

Timpani

Classification	Percussion instrument
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Kus Naqareh Naker

Timpani (also known colloquially as kettle drums) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl commonly made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Unlike most drums, they produce a definite pitch when struck. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of musical ensembles including concert, marching, and even rock bands.

Timpani is an Italian plural, the singular of which is timpano. However, this is rarely used in informal English speech as a timpano is typically referred to as a drum, a timpani, or simply a timp. A musician who plays the timpani is known as a timpanist.

Alternative spellings

Alternative spellings with y in place of either or both is – tympani, tympany, or timpany – are occasionally encountered in older English texts. This substitution is taken from the Latin word tympanum, from which the Italian word descends. While the word timpani has been widely adopted in the English language, some English speakers choose to use the word kettledrums. The German word for timpani is Pauken, and the French is timbales.

Construction

Basic timpano

The basic timpano consists of a drumhead stretched across the opening of a bowl typically made of copper or, in less expensive models, fibreglass and sometimes aluminium. In the Sachs-Hornbostel classification, it is thus considered a membranophone. The drumhead is affixed to a hoop (also called a fleshhoop), which in turn is held onto the bowl by a counterhoop, which is then held by means of a number of tuning screws called tension rods placed regularly around the circumference. The head's tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods. Most timpani have six to eight tension rods.

The shape of the bowl contributes to the tone quality of the drum. For example, hemispheric bowls produce brighter tones while parabolic bowls produce darker tones. Another factor that affects the timbre of the drum is the quality of the bowl's surface. Copper bowls may have a smooth, machined surface or a rough surface with many small dents hammered into it.

Timpani come in a variety of sizes from about 84 centimeters (33 inches) in diameter down to piccolo timpani of 30 centimeters (12 inches) or less. A 33-inch drum can produce the C below the bass clef, and speciality piccolo timpani can play up into the treble clef. In Darius Milhaud's 1923 ballet score La création du monde, the timpanist must play the F sharp at the bottom of the treble clef.

Each individual drum typically has a range of a perfect fifth to an octave.

Machine timpani

Changing the pitch of a timpano by turning each tension rod individually is a laborious process. In the late 19th century, mechanical systems to change the tension of the entire head at once were developed. Any timpani equipped with such a system may be called machine timpani, although this term commonly refers to drums that use a single handle connected to a spider-type tuning mechanism.

Pedal timpani

By far the most common type of timpani used today are pedal timpani, which allow the tension of the head to be adjusted using a pedal mechanism. Typically, the pedal is connected to the tension screws via a spider-like system of metal rods.

There are three types of pedal mechanisms in common use today:

• The ratchet-clutch system uses a ratchet and pawl to hold the pedal in place. The timpanist must first disengage the clutch before using the pedal to tune the drum. When the desired pitch is achieved, the timpanist must then reengage the clutch.
• In the balanced action system, a spring or hydraulic cylinder is used to balance the tension on the timpani head so that the pedal will stay in position and the head will stay at pitch. The pedal on a balanced action drum is sometimes called a floating pedal since there is no clutch holding it in place.
• The friction clutch or post and clutch system uses a clutch that moves along a post. Disengaging the clutch frees it from the post, allowing the pedal to move without restraint.

Any pedal drums that are tuned using the spider system can be called Dresden timpani, though the term is most often used for drums whose design is similar to the original pedal timpani built in Dresden (see below). Strictly speaking, a Dresden drum has a pedal that is attached at the player's side. The timpanist can move this pedal with ankle motion. A Berlin-style pedal is attached by means of a long arm to the opposite side of the drum, and the timpanist must use his entire leg to adjust the pitch.

The drums most professional timpanists use are Dresden timpani, commonly with a ratchet-clutch or friction clutch pedal. Most school bands and orchestras below the university level use cheaper, more durable timpani. The mechanical parts of these timpani are almost completely contained within the frame and bowl of the drum. They may use any of the pedal mechanisms, though the balanced action system is by far the most common, followed by the friction clutch system. Many professionals also use these drums for gigs and outdoor performances because of their durability.

Chain timpani

On chain timpani, the tension rods are connected by a roller chain much like the one found on a bicycle, though some manufacturers have used other materials, including steel cable. In these systems, all the tension screws can then be tightened or loosened by one handle. Though far less common than pedal timpani, chain and cable drums still have practical uses. Occasionally, a player is forced to place a drum behind other items so that he cannot reach it with his foot. Professional players may also use exceptionally large or small chain and cable drums for special low or high notes.

Other tuning mechanisms

A rare tuning mechanism allows the pitch of the head to be changed by rotating the drum itself. A similar system is used on rototoms. Jenco, a company better known for mallet percussion, made timpani tuned in this fashion.

In the early 20th century, Hans Schnellar, then timpanist of the Vienna Philhamonic, developed a tuning mechanism in which the bowl is moved via a handle that connects to the base, and the head remains stationary. These drums are referred to as Viennese timpani (Wiener Pauken) or Schnellar timpani. Adams Musical Instruments developed a pedal-operated version of this tuning mechanism in the early 21st century.

Timpani heads

Like most drumheads, timpani heads can be found made from two materials: animal skin (typically calfskin or goatskin) and plastic (typically PET film). Plastic heads are durable, weather resistant, and relatively inexpensive. Thus, they are more commonly used than natural skin heads. However, many professional players prefer skin heads because they feel the heads produce a warmer, better quality timbre. Timpani heads are sized based on the size of the head, not the size of the timpani bowl. For example, a 23" Timpani may require a 25" timpani head.

Sticks and mallets

Timpani are typically struck with a special type of drumstick fittingly called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani sticks are used in pairs. They have two components: a shaft and a head. The shaft is typically made from wood – usually hickory, cherry, birch, persimmon, or maple – or bamboo, but may also be made from aluminium or graphite. The head of the stick can be constructed from a number of different materials, though felt wrapped around a wood core is the most common. Other core materials include felt and cork, and other wrap materials include leather. Sticks can also have exposed wood heads. These are used as a special effect and in authentic performances of Baroque music.

Although it is not commonly written in the music, timpanists will change sticks – often many times within the same piece – to suit the nature of the music. However, choice of stick during performance is entirely subjective and depends on the timpanist's own preference, and occasionally, the wishes of the conductor. Thus, most timpanists own a great number of timpani sticks. The weight of the stick, the size of the head, the materials used for the shaft, core, and wrap, and the method used to wrap the head all contribute to the timbre the stick produces.

In the early 20th century and before, sticks were often made with whalebone shafts, wood cores, and sponge wraps. Composers of that era often specified sponge-headed sticks. Modern timpanists execute such passages with standard felt mallets.

In the modern ensemble

A set of timpani

A standard set of timpani (sometimes called a timpani console) consists of four drums: roughly 80 cm (32 in), 75 cm (29 in), 66 cm (26 in), and 61 cm (23 in) in diameter. The range of this set is roughly the D below the bass clef to the top-line bass clef A. A great majority of the orchestral repertoire can be played using these four drums. However, Leonard Bernstein requires the timpanist to execute both a top-line bass clef A flat and the B flat above it on the same drum in the Overture to Candide. Adding a 51 cm (20 in) piccolo timpano to the standard set of four extends the range upwards by a few semitones. This is the instrument which Igor Stravinsky specifies for the production of the B below middle C in The Rite of Spring, and from which Maurice Ravel expects the D above that in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. Walter Piston points out that "these small drums, even if available, certainly lack the characteristic resonance and sonority of timpani".

Beyond this extended set of five, any added drums are nonstandard. Many professional orchestras and timpanists own multiple sets of timpani consisting of both pedal and chain drums allowing them to execute music that cannot be performed correctly using a standard set of four or five drums.

Many schools and ensembles that cannot afford to purchase equipment regularly only have a set of three timpani. It consists of 75 cm (29 in), 66 cm (26 in), and 61 cm (23 in) drums. Its range extends down only to the F below the bass clef.

The drums are set up in an arc around the performer. Traditionally, North American and French timpanists set their drums up with the lowest drum on the left and the highest on the right, while German and Austrian players set them up the opposite way. Over time, that distinction has blurred: many German and European players have adopted the North American layout and vice versa.

Timpanists

Throughout their education, timpanists are trained as percussionists, and they learn to play all instruments of the percussion family along with timpani. However, when appointed to a principal timpani chair in a professional orchestra or concert band, a timpanist is not required to play any other instruments. In his book Anatomy of the Orchestra, Norman Del Mar writes that the timpanist is "king of his own province", and that "a good timpanist really does set the standard of the whole orchestra." A member of the percussion section sometimes doubles as assistant timpanist and plays timpani in some repertoire—such as overtures and concertos—as well as any second timpani parts.

Most pieces of music call for one timpanist playing one set of timpani. However, occasionally composers seeking a thicker texture or a greater palette of pitches ask for multiple players to perform on one or many sets of timpani. Gustav Mahler writes for two timpanists in six of his symphonies. Gustav Holst uses two timpanists to achieve the range of notes needed to echo the main theme in "Jupiter" from The Planets suite. Using two timpanists is relatively common in late Romantic and 20th century works for large orchestras, although the early Romantic composer Hector Berlioz calls for eight pairs of timpani played by ten timpanists in the Grande Messe des morts.

	"Jupiter" from The Planets suite (excerpt) In the beginning of "Jupiter" from Holst's The Planets, the two timpanists echo the main theme. Recording courtesy of Musopen
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Timpani concertos

A few concertos have been written for timpani. The 18th century composer Johann Fischer wrote a symphony for eight timpani and orchestra, which requires the solo timpanist to play eight drums simultaneously. In 1983, William Kraft, a well regarded American percussionist and composer, composed his Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra, which won second prize in the Kennedy Centre Friedheim Awards. Gordon Jacob wrote a concerto for timpani and wind band in 1984. In the year 2000, American composer Philip Glass wrote his Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, which has its two soloists each playing seven timpani.

Performance techniques

Striking the drum

For general playing, a timpanist will beat the head approximately 4 inches in from the edge. Beating at this spot produces the round, resonant sound commonly associated with timpani. A timpani roll is executed by rapidly striking the drum, alternating between left and right sticks, extending the duration of the sound as required and allowing increases or decreases in volume. Anton Bruckner's 7th Symphony requires a continuous roll on a single drum for over two-and-a-half minutes. In general, timpanists do not use multiple stroke rolls like those played on the snare drum.

The tone quality of the drum can be altered without switching sticks or adjusting the tuning of the drum. For example, by playing closer to the edge of the head, the sound becomes thinner. A more staccato sound can be produced by changing the velocity of the stroke. There are many more variations in technique a timpanist uses during the course of playing to produce subtle timbral differences.

Tuning

Prior to playing the instruments, the timpanist must clear the heads by equalizing the tension at each tuning screw. This is done so every spot on the head is tuned to exactly the same pitch. When the head is clear, the timpano will produce a beautiful, in-tune sound. If the head is not clear, the pitch of the drum will rise or fall after the initial impact, and the drum will produce different pitches at different dynamic levels.

In performance, tuning is typically accomplished with a method called interval tuning. Timpanists who do not have absolute pitch obtain a reference pitch from a tuning fork, pitch pipe, or a note played by another instrument in the course of the performance, then use musical intervals to arrive at the desired note. For example, to tune the timpani to G and C, a timpanist may sound an A with a tuning fork, then sing, hum, or think a minor third above that A to tune the C, and then sing a perfect fourth below the C to tune the G. Timpanists are required to have a well-developed sense of relative pitch, and must develop techniques to tune undetectably and accurately in the middle of a performance.

Some timpani are equipped with tuning gauges, which provide a visual indication of the drum's pitch. They are physically connected either to the counterhoop, in which case the gauge indicates how far the counterhoop is pushed down, or the pedal, in which case the gauge indicates the position of the pedal. These gauges are accurate when used correctly. However, when the drum is moved, the overall pitch of the head can change, thus the markers on the gauges are not reliable unless they have been adjusted immediately preceding the performance. Gauges are especially useful when performing music that involves fast tuning changes that do not allow the player to listen to the new pitch before playing it. Even when gauges are available, good timpanists will check their intonation by ear before playing.

Occasionally, players use the pedals to retune a drum while playing it. Portamento effects can be achieved by changing the pitch of the drum while it can still be heard. This is commonly called a glissando, though this use of the term is not strictly correct. The most effective glissandos are those from low notes to high notes and those performed during rolls. One of the first composers to call for a timpani glissando was Carl Nielsen, who used two sets of timpani, both playing glissandos at the same time, in his Symphony No. 4 ("The Inextinguishable").

	Sonata for two pianos and percussion, first movement (excerpt) This segment of Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion features pedal glissandos during a timpani roll.
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Pedaling refers to changing the pitch of the drum with the pedal; it is an alternate term for tuning. In general, timpanists reserve this term for passages where the performer must change the pitch of a drum in the midst of playing – for example, playing two consecutive notes of different pitches on the same drum. Early 20th century composers such as Nielsen, Béla Bartók, Samuel Barber, and Richard Strauss took advantage of the freedom pedal timpani afforded, often giving the timpani the bass line.

	Concerto for Orchestra (excerpt) In this passage from the Intermezzo interrotto movement of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, the timpanist plays a chromatic bass line, which requires using the pedal to change pitches.
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Muffling

Muffling or damping is an implicit part of playing timpani. Often, timpanists will muffle notes so they only sound for the length indicated by the composer. However, early drums did not resonate nearly as long as modern timpani, so composers often just wrote a note when the timpanist was to hit the drum without worrying about the sustain. Today, timpanists must use their ear and the score of the piece to determine the actual length the note should sound.

The typical method of muffling is to place the pads of the fingers against the head while holding onto the timpani stick with the thumb and index finger. Timpanists are required to develop techniques to stop all vibration of the drumhead without making any sound from the contact of their fingers.

Muffling is often referred to as muting, which can also refer to playing the drums with mutes on them (see below).

Extended techniques

• It is typical for only one timpano to be struck at a time, but occasionally composers will ask for two notes to be struck at once. This is called a double stop, a term borrowed from the string instrument vocabulary. Ludwig van Beethoven uses this effect in the slow movement of his Ninth Symphony.
• To play more than two simultaneous notes, a timpanist can hold two sticks in one hand much like a marimbist, or more than one timpanist can be employed. Hector Berlioz writes fully voiced chords for eight timpanists, each playing a pair of drums, in Grande Messe des morts.
• When the timpani are struck directly in the centre of the head, the drums have a sound that is almost completely devoid of tone and resonance. George Gershwin uses this effect in An American in Paris. A variation of this is to strike the head while two fingers of one hand lightly press and release spots near the centre. When done correctly, the head will vibrate at a harmonic, much like the similar effect on a string instrument.
• Often, when one drum is struck, another will vibrate quietly. In orchestral playing, timpanists must avoid this effect, called sympathetic resonance, but composers have exploited this effect in solo pieces, such as Elliot Carter's Eight Pieces for Four Timpani.
• Sometimes composers will specify that timpani be played con sordino (with mute) or coperti (covered), both of which indicate that mutes should be placed on the head. Timpani mutes are typically small pieces of felt or leather. The degree the head is dampened can be altered by placing the mute at different spots on the head. Barber specifies that the timpani be played con sordino in a section of Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance. Additionally, mutes are often placed on unused drums to prevent sympathetic resonance.
• Composers will sometimes specify that the timpani should be struck with implements other than timpani sticks. It is common in timpani etudes and solos for performers to play with their hands or fingers. Leonard Bernstein calls for maracas on timpani in both the "Jeremiah" Symphony and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Edward Elgar attempts to use the timpani to imitate the engine of an ocean liner in his "Enigma" Variations by requesting the timpanist play with snare drum sticks. However, snare drum sticks tend to produce too loud a sound, and since this work's premiere, the passage in question has been performed by striking the timpani with coins.
• Robert W. Smith's Songs of Sailor and Sea calls for a "whale sound" on the largest timpano. This is achieved by moistening the thumb and rubbing it from the edge to the centre of the drumhead.
• Another technique used primarily in solo work, such as John Beck's Sonata for Timpani, is striking the copper bowls. Timpanists tend to be reluctant to strike the bowls at loud dynamic levels or with hard sticks, since copper can be dented easily.
• Occasionally a composer will ask for a metal object, commonly an upside-down cymbal, to be placed upon the drumhead and then struck or rolled while executing a glissando on the drum. Joseph Schwantner used this technique in From A Dark Millennium.

History

Pre-orchestral history

In 1188, Cambro-Norman chronicler Gerald of Wales wrote, "Ireland uses and delights in two instruments only, the harp namely, and the tympanum."

Arabic nakers, the direct ancestors of most timpani, were brought to 13th century Continental Europe by Crusaders and Saracens. These drums, which were small (with a diameter of about 20–22 cm or 8–8½ in) and mounted to the player's belt, were used primarily for military ceremonies. This form of timpani remained in use until the 16th century.

In 1457, a Hungarian legation sent by King Ladislaus V carried larger timpani mounted on horseback to the court of King Charles VII in France. This variety of timpani had been used in the Middle East since the 12th century. These drums evolved together with trumpets to be the primary instruments of the cavalry. This practice continues to this day in sections of the British Army, and timpani continued to be paired with trumpets when they entered the classical orchestra.

Over the next two centuries, a number of technical improvements were made to timpani. Originally, the head was nailed directly to the shell of the drum. In the 15th century, heads began to be attached and tensioned by a counterhoop that was tied directly to the shell. In the early 16th century, the bindings were replaced by screws. This allowed timpani to become tunable instruments of definite pitch.

Timpani in the orchestra

Jean-Baptiste Lully is the first known composer to have scored for timpani, which he included in the orchestra for his 1675 opera Thésée. Other seventeenth-century composers soon followed suit. In music of this time, timpani are almost always tuned with the tonic note of the piece on the high drum and the dominant on the low drum – a perfect fourth apart. Timpani are often treated as transposing instruments in the music of this period: the notes were written as C and G with the actual pitches indicated at the top of the score (for example, Timpani in D–A).

Later in the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a secular cantata titled " Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!", which translates roughly to "Sound off, ye timpani! Sound, trumpets!" Naturally, the timpani are placed at the forefront: the piece starts with a timpani solo and the chorus and timpani trade the melody back and forth. Bach reworked this movement in part 1 of the Christmas Oratorio.

Ludwig van Beethoven revolutionized timpani music in the early 19th century. He not only wrote for drums tuned to intervals other than a fourth or fifth, but he gave a prominence to the instrument as an independent voice beyond programmatic use (as in Bach's "Tönet, ihr Pauken!"). For example, his Violin Concerto (1806) opens with four solo timpani strokes, and the scherzo of his Ninth Symphony (1824) sets the timpani against the orchestra in a sort of call and response.

The next major innovator was Hector Berlioz. He was the first composer to indicate the exact sticks that should be used – felt-covered, wooden, etc. In several of his works, including Symphonie fantastique (1830), he demanded the use of several timpanists at once.

Until the late 19th century, timpani were hand-tuned; that is, there was a sequence of screws with T-shaped handles, called taps, which altered the tension in the head when turned by players. Thus, tuning was a relatively slow operation, and composers had to allow a reasonable amount of time for players to change notes if they wanted to be sure of a true note. The first 'machine' timpani, with a single tuning handle, was developed in 1812. The first pedal timpani originated in Dresden in the 1870s and are called Dresden timpani for this reason. However, since vellum was used for the heads of the drums, automated solutions were difficult to implement since the tension would vary unpredictably across the drum. This could be compensated for by hand-tuning, but not easily by a pedal drum. Mechanisms continued to improve in the early 20th century.

Despite these problems, composers eagerly exploited the opportunities the new mechanism had to offer. By 1915, Carl Nielsen was demanding glissandos on timpani in his Fourth Symphony – impossible on the old hand-tuned drums. However, it took Béla Bartók to more fully realize the flexibility the new mechanism had to offer. Many of his timpani parts require such a range of notes that it would be unthinkable to attempt them without pedal drums.

Timpani outside the orchestra

Later, timpani were adopted into other classical music ensembles such as concert bands. In the 1970s, marching bands and drum and bugle corps, which evolved both from traditional marching bands and concert bands, began to include marching timpani. Each player carried a single drum, which was tuned by a hand crank. Marching timpani were heavy and awkward to play, as the drumhead was almost at the player's chest. Often, during intricate passages, the timpani players would put their drums on the ground by means of extendable legs, and they would be played more like conventional timpani, but with a single player per drum. In the early 1980s, Drum Corps International (DCI), a drum corps governing body, allowed timpani and other percussion instruments to be permanently grounded. This was the beginning of the end for marching timpani: Eventually, standard concert timpani found their way onto the football field as part of the front ensemble, and marching timpani fell out of common usage.

As rock and roll bands started seeking to diversify their sound, timpani found their way into the studio. Starting in the 1960s, drummers for high profile rock acts like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, and Queen incorporated timpani into their music. This led to the use of timpani in progressive rock. Emerson, Lake & Palmer recorded a number of rock covers of classical pieces that utilize timpani.

Jazz musicians also experimented with timpani. Sun Ra used it occasionally in his Arkestra (played, for example, by percussionist Jim Herndon on the songs "Reflection in Blue" and "El Viktor," both recorded in 1957). In 1964, Elvin Jones incorporated timpani into his drum kit on John Coltrane's four-part composition A Love Supreme.

Jonathan Haas is one of the few timpanists who markets himself as a soloist. Haas, who began his career as a solo timpanist in 1980, is notable for performing music from many genres including jazz, rock, and classical. In fact, he released an album with a rather unconventional jazz band called Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing. Glass' Concerto Fantasy..., commissioned by Haas, put two soloists in front of the orchestra, an atypical placement for the instruments.