Timpani pedal slips are a common problem for balanced action timpani like Yamahas and Ludwig Symphonic drums and what happens is that the head tension and the pedal spring tension aren’t in sink so the pedal won’t stay in place as you play or when you tune. Timpani Pedal Won’t Stay on Lowest note Here’s […]
How to Tune Timpani Using Piano Chords
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To tune the timpani the player will acquire the desired note from a tuning fork, piano, marimba, or some other pitched instrument and then try to tune their drum to that pitch. The younger player or a player that hasn’t had a lot of experience in tuning might find it difficult to ‘zero in’ on […]
An Introduction to Cross Sticking on Timpani
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When you have timpani music that requires you to play quickly from one drum to the next we often have to cross stick if the tempo is very fast. I’m talking about something like this where you play 4 sixteenth notes on the high drum starting with your right hand and then 4 sixteenth notes. […]
Timpani Mallets: Your Ultimate Guide
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When I first started to play percussion and timpani there were only a few manufactures of sticks and mallets in the market place. Vic Firth was just getting started with his snare drum stick and timpani mallet production and distribution. If you wanted a timpani mallet there were sticks made by Ludwig and Payson as […]
How to Properly Perform a Timpani Roll
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Timpani rolls are hand to hand single stroke rolls and are unlike snare drum that are bounce or buzz rolls. To develop a good timpani roll you must: have a nice and relaxed grip play on the optimal playing spot on the drum let your mallets and hands and wrists rebound off of the timpani […]
Timpani Grip and a Simple Exercise
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There are two fundamental timpani mallet grips in use among the worlds’ timpani players. I use the French Grip which has a thumbs up and palms facing each other profile and there are many German Grip players who play with a palms down and thumbs to the side profile. The French Grip that I play […]
How to Play Timpani Rolls from Soft to Loud and Back to Soft
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The ability to play a smooth and controlled roll at all dynamics and throughout a crescendo and diminuendo is extremely important for the timpanist to develop. It is very common for composers to rely on the timpani to lead the entire orchestra in dynamics and for the timpani to create drama and mood with carefully […]
