Here is another timpani roll exercise that involves moving between four drums instead of two. Left hand and Right Hand Lead Drum Rolls When you roll between drum and you’re looking for everything to sound smooth and legato you have to be able to switch from a RIGHT HAND LEAD drum roll to a LEFT […]
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. […]
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 Develop a Consistent Sound with Both Hands On Timpani
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In this video I’ll show you a short and seemingly easy exercise meant to develop consistent sound between your two hands. It’s very important that both your right and left hand sound the same when you’re playing timpani, or you will sound like you’re playing on two different instruments. Timpani Exercise to Develop a Consistent […]
How to Develop Your Timpani Stroke
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Getting a good sound from timpani requires the player to not only play the drum on the correct playing spot but to also have the proper striking technique with the mallet. Remember; the best playing spot on the timpano is about 3 inches from the rim of the drum and directly in front of the […]
