timpani

Timpani, are sometimes called kettledrums because they are shaped like big copper kettles. In fact they are often made of copper. They have a piece of calfskin or thin plastic stretched over their opening. This is called a drum head. Timpani are very important in the orchestra because they "underline" important chords. They are usually played in pairs - sometimes in threes or fours - because each drum is tuned to a different pitch.

Composer: Britten
Piece: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Britten

Here's what the timpani look like.

The big, bowl-shaped main chamber is called the resonator.

The drum head is the flexible skin stretched across the top of the drum.

The timpanist uses two beaters to strike the drum head.

There are several tension screws all around the side of the drum head. When they are tightened, the drum head is stretched and its pitch rises. When they are loosened, the drum head is relaxed and it pitch gets lower.

The pedal at the foot of the resonator activates all the tension screws around the side of the drum head.

The tuning gauge allows the timpanist to set the drum at the right pitch before being sounded. Timpani that have these rapid tuning mechanisms are called "machine drums"

Take a look at Tom playing one of his timpani. He strikes the drum head with sticks called beaters, hitting about three inches from the rim of the drum. Timpanists carry many different pairs of beaters to produce different tone qualities. Tom can only play one note at a time on each of his timpani, so if he were in an orchestra, he would have two or three timpani around him.

Timpanists can change the pitch of each drum by pressing their foot on a pedal at the base of the drum. When they are not playing, they can change the pitch of a drum by changing the tightness of its drum head. To do this a timpanist tightens or loosens tension screws on the side and base of the drum. A good timpanist can tune the drums very quietly and quickly while the rest of the orchestra is playing. Then, when it's time for the timpani to play their part, the timpanist can make a very loud noise!