Timpani

[bennychico11]

A question for you percussionists. I'm writing something for a timpani player and was wondering about how easy it is for a timpani player to change pitches during a song. This player will probably be using only 3 drums and I was wanting to write out a repeated descending pattern using four notes across four measures. Would it be out of question to have him change the pitches on the fly as he plays? And what about key changes. Can those be handled pretty easily?

Thanks guys.

B

 

[Seafroggys]

If he has perfect pitch or a pitch meter, it'll be a lot easier. Especially with pitch meters, as long as its accurate you can tune very quickly. Even with perfect pitch it'll take some time for you to hit the right note.

 

[PhilGood]

My experience is from DCI drum and bugle corps, where the players are quite skilled and pitch changes are done on the fly. A good tympanist should not have any problems making adjustments, especially over 4 measures.

 

[bennychico11]

okay, thanks. I'll just write it out and see what he says. These are just simple descending intervals, so hopefully he can do that by ear.

 

[Seafroggys]

My experience is from DCI drum and bugle corps, where the players are quite skilled and pitch changes are done on the fly. A good tympanist should not have any problems making adjustments, especially over 4 measures.

One of the things I have done (having played lots of timps over the years and having perfect pitch) is learning the pedals. After playing a piece enough times, you learn more or less how much you have to press or depress the pedal, which allows you to quickly reach a relative range, allowing more time to fine tune to the pitch you desire.