Timpani question

Ok, so im having a problem - im trying to make my pieces a little more performable, and i noticed that im using about 6 timpani sounds. so i went around changing everything to a standard of 3-5. but at some pieces i REALLY need to have more sounds on timpani, but since it's on a different part of a piece that i need a different set of sounds i was wondering:

Is it possiable that a timpani player player re-pitches his timpani between movements or something?

it's just too limiting sometimes, and i really like my timpani work sometimes ( even though it's quite demanding), same as with all of my percussion.

Hey!

Having been a percussionist myself, I can help you out a bit with this question. So first off, no worries: you can have 6 or more timpani pitches even within a single movement without too much inconvenience.

Each timpani has a pedal near the bottom which controls pitch. When you push the pedal or release it a bit, you're basically tightening or loosening the skin, which changes the pitch. There's also an indicator to tell you what pitch you've got it at.

For a timpanist of even moderate skill, changing the pitch of one or more of his instruments in this way during a piece is no problem at all, even with only a bar or two in which to do it. It's a simple enough foot movement, that's all.

Good luck! :)

Yea, but does that not mean it's not tuned accurately?

Well before the performance, each timpani is tuned to a few different pitches with the pedal and checked to make sure it's accurate. Then the little pitch-indicating arrows are moved to reflect where the pitch is accurate. So again, as long as the timpanist is moderately-skilled, he'll have no trouble pushing the pedal until the indicator and arrow line up. So basically no, the pitch is accurate.

Hmm.... if it was accurate, why do timpani players spend so long fine tuning before a before a performance?

Because they need to make sure the indicators are exactly on pitch so that they don't have to worry about it when they switch to that note during the performance.

Not exactly. I've never played on timpani with the indicators, and I think they're very new, actually. A good timpanist has a decent ear, and even in performances you'll see them lean really close into the drum and tuning it with the pedal, to the next note they need.

Timpanists have been known to slide pitches as well, when the composer calls for it.

So yeah, write as many notes as you need, but keep in mind the average orchestra only has 5 actual timpani, with one player. It probably takes 5-10 seconds to tune a note, as well.

but keep in mind the average orchestra only has 5 actual timpani, with one player.

Really? I find that surprising. 5 timpani seems excessive to me for most situations. The regional orchestra I play with has a tough time scraping four of them together...probably because the timpanist has to schlep them himself.

I still tend to favour restraint in situations like this, simply because I know that not every orchestra is the Berlin Philharmonic; but not everyone wants to consider that, I suppose, and many would rather write for something closer to the ultimate.

Sure, but you only ever need two, at tonic and dominant. I bet you even always write them on C and G, even if that means the higher note is written lower than its pitch.

Though maybe computers cured you of that one bad habit...

And your point is? *wry smile*

I like to think of timpanis as melodic instruments much like double bass pizzicato. Playing melodic stuff on timpanis sounds pretty cool, but the problem is to have enough notes, as you can only have 4-5 tuned notes at once.

When timpanis were orginally invented they only had two drums. Also the pitches could not be changed easily, so they tuned them to intervals of the fifth. Nowadays, it is very easy to change pitch using the pedals. I am the principal timpanist at my high school. I use four timpani. Changing pitch is done quickly if the proper techniques are used. It is also true that a timpanist needs a good ear in order to adjust the pitch from flat or sharp quickly. Finally, timpani are very hard to tune because there are so many different pitches that come out between when you first strike the drum and when the sound finally stops. You have to find a happy medium.

I'm a percussionist in my college's concert band, and we generally use four, though we do have a fifth (and I think even a sixth somewhere...) on hand for special pieces. Changing pitch doesn't take long, not 5-10 seconds anyway. As long as it's well tuned, in a pinch a moderately good timpanist can change pitch fairly accurately in 3-4 seconds. And believe it or not, I heard a timpani solo recently. It was VERY interesting. I didn't think that could be done.

Wow, you guys must have LOADS of money! Our orchestra recently bought two pedal timps and that's set us back quite a bit. You have to be a bit careful because there are some poor orchestras which have the old timps *sigh* and tuning them can be really painful.

My friend was playing the timpani for Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 on two old timpani and that was a feat in itself never mind the soloist!

Well, the only orchestra I've ever been in - at Caltech - has a standard set of four timps. I've never seen a set of 5 before, but I understand that a set of 5 is normally the usual four plus a smaller (20") drum?

I personally prefer to only change pitches between movements, not during them - that way I'm not relying too much on the timpanist's ability to tune on the fly.

Since I am the principal timpianist at my school, I have been doing a lot of research about the timpani. The 5th, 20 inch, drum you talk about is call the piccolo timpani. I know that my school has one in our main band room; however, I have never used it for any piece.

For a good timpani solo, find "Procession of the Nobles." There are timpani solos everywhere in that piece. That is one of the pieces our Wind Ensemble is playing for our first concert this week.

In a piece called "Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual" I have to change pitches on two drums in about 3 beats at a tempo of about 144 over and over again. This may seem difficult, but even an average timpanist, like myself, can change pitch quickly.

Holst, in his work the Planets, has six timpani though there are two timpanists (that is three timpani per timpanist). Wow I love confusing people :whistling:

Berlioz's Requiem had quite a bit of timpanis, like 4-6 players.

The best would be to have 12 timpanis, though, to play all the chromatic notes :-P

BTW, is it possible to play harmonics on timpani?