Timpani

While temporarily filling the orchestral percussion position I learned some interesting facts about timpani performance.

The timpani, italian plural for timpano, are typically large calfskin covered, referred to as the head, copper bowls. The timpani heads are struck by felt tip wooden mallets and are fine tuned with a foot pedal and a key.

It is amazing, when experiencing a live orchestral performance, how the timpani drums blend so unnoticeably with that of the other instruments. What I found fascinating, while studying the instrument, was that drum size only determines an initial pitch. That initial pitch can then be fine tuned with the use of foot pedal, which loosens or tightens the head, and a key. I was under the impression that, like many percussive instruments, the pitch that the instrument produces remains constant. Such insight helped me to better understand the timpanist's duty of altering the drum's pitches, to correspond with the key signature, throughout a performance. This is done by placing an ear close to the head of the timpano drum while lightly striking with a mallet and concurrently using the foot pedal and key to fine tune. Sounds simple enough, though trying to tune an instrument while other instruments are sounding, sometimes at their loudest, can present a challenging situation, if for no other other reason then a blatant distraction.