What do we do when we see the following dynamic notation in a piece we’re playing? The trick is to play the drum loudly with a single note and to be patient. Let the sound almost die away to nothing and then start your roll at that very quiet level of sound. Then take your […]
What’s the Difference Between Legato and Staccato for Timpani?
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Legato and Water Water flows and never stops moving. Legato passages in music flow from one note to the other. Staccato and fire Fire flashes with speed and is hot to the touch. Staccato passages in music sparkle and leap from one note to the other. These two concepts are difficult to understand without seeing […]
How to Change a Timpani Head
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Changing the heads on your timpani is a necessary fact of drum maintenance. If you are playing your drums regularly you should really change the heads a least once per year or more often if they become damaged with dents or holes. It’s really not that difficult to change the head, but it does become […]
How to Use a Drum Dial on a Timpani Head
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Drum Dials are terrific tools to use to make sure that your timpani head has even tension all the way around at each tuning lug. Having equal tension makes it easier to clear the head and to make the drum sound in tune with itself. Using a Drum Dial can be confusing at times because […]
How to Clear a Timpani Head
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Clearing a timpani head is to tune each lug on the drum to the same note. It’s an art unto itself and requires some experience, trial and error and patience. Watch this Video Demonstration Where I Clear a Timpani Head The first step in the clearing process is to ensure the head is mounted properly. […]
Timpani Ranges: What You Need to Know
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A typical set of timpani consists four drums of graduated sizes; 32”, 29”, 26”, 23”. These sizes of drums refer to a set of Yamaha balanced action drums and different manufacturers of timpani will have similar yet slightly different sizes. But, virtually all sets of four timpani consist of a large drum for low notes, […]
How to Locate and Eliminate Annoying Timpani Rattles
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Oh, Those Annoying Rattles! There isn’t a timpanist anywhere who hasn’t experienced the frustration of trying to locate an unwanted rattle on one of their drums. They can be tricky to find and fix, but if you know some of the notorious rattle traps you have a better chance at fixing them. Rattles on timpani […]
