Talk:Timpani

The current WikiProject Percussion Collaboration of the Month is List of percussion instruments Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards.

Free content

I have replaced Image:Holst - The Planets - Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity (clip).ogg with a free version at Image:Gustav Holst - the planets, op. 32 - iv. jupiter, the bringer of jollity (excerpt).ogg and marked the former image for deletion as it's no longer needed. The Symphony No. 9 excerpt should be replaced by one based on the free-content files at Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) and the sound clip from Also sprach Zarathustra is replaceable fair use which is not technically allowed - but I understand how difficult replacement is. I can't find a problem with the other excerpts as they are not in the public domain yet. If you would like to help with the effort to find more free content music, visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Free music. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Graham87 (talk • contribs) 12:37, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

I've removed the replaceable fair use images. I've replaced the Beethoven's ninth symphony excerpt with a free recording of the entire 2nd movement. Graham87 01:43, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

That recording of Jupiter has so many wrong notes... It hurts me. - BEL —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.36.123.223 (talk • contribs)

Update the to-do list?

Do you think we could update the to-do list with what needs to be done other than reffing, etc.? This would especially help those of us in WikiProject Percussion who want to help with the collaboration of the month but aren't exactly adept at article-writing. -Evan ¤ Seeds 04:20, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

I did some updating of the list. Tell me what you think. Kakofonous (talk) 04:21, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

What exactly do you mean by consolidating the lists? --Evan ¤ Seeds 20:32, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

I think I clarified it—there were two things I wanted to say, but I didn't combine them very clearly. Kakofonous (talk) 20:58, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Can the list be Update again in-line references have been added extensively. Philip.t.day (talk) 11:03, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:John Williams Olympic Fanfare.ogg

The image Image:John Williams Olympic Fanfare.ogg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

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This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --01:33, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Why were drum sizes changed to cm primarily?

Timpani are most commonly sold in INCH sizes worldwide! Just for a few examples, check the sites/catalogs of Kolberg (Germany), Adams (Holland), Premier (England). 71.236.65.158 (talk) 18:22, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Singular of Timpani

Rather than risk creating an edit war, we ought to discuss it here. What is the singular of "timpani"? It seems to me that if one must be used, "timpano" is the most appropriate, since the word was borrowed into English from Italian. Strictly speaking, though, the word has no singular form in English, and we ought to rephrase to avoid needing to use the singular. In any case "one timpani" is non-standard at best and probably should be avoided. Powers ^T 12:39, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

It's a bit issue-avoiding, but people quite often say one "timp". We'd need an WP:RS for that but I do hear it happening. Maybe people are doing it because consciously or otherwise they are uncomrtable with the fake singulars and so on? What would be a source for this? DBaK (talk) 08:33, 31 January 2011 (UTC) Doh! It's discussed right there in the lead. I need to wake up. Sorry. DBaK (talk) 08:36, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Pitch

From the first paragraph: "Unlike most drums, they are capable of producing an actual pitch when struck, and can be tuned, often with the use of a pedal mechanism to control each drum's range of notes." This may need clarification or deletion, many drums can be tuned and WILL produce an actual pitch. The unique parts about the tuning of timpani are the pedal and the definition of the pitch the drum is tuned to. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.244.100.79 (talk) 22:20, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Implicitness of muffling

Muffling or damping is an implicit part of playing timpani."

Is "implicit" really meant here? As opposed to "explicit"? Or is the intent something like "integral"? 71.166.248.180 (talk) 15:26, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

Peer Review

This is a really awesome article. I went through and corrected some minor grammatical items but there was one part that I wasn't sure what you were trying to explain so i'll just include it hear so you are aware:

"In his Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, for example, Hector Berlioz realizes fulls chords from the timpani section by requiring three timpanists and assigning one drum to each". This is in your Extended techniques section. I'm not sure what is meant by "fulls chords" and i'm not sure if it is supposed to be plural. Other than that, the article is in great shape. Good job! Ragfin (talk) 22:54, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

No, this article needs some work. For instance, the idea that there were no timpani concertos in the 20th Century until the 1980s is just a bizarre statement. Although much of the article is good, it is in need of better research and citations. There are too many statements made that just hang out there without reference. And, as one would expect, not all of the statements hold up. 75.48.3.183 (talk) 01:10, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

Oh, and full chords instead of dyads etc. And yes, this is true in Berlioz, in Benvenuto Cellini as well as his Requiem and Symphonie Fantastique. 75.48.3.183 (talk) 01:16, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

Explanation of my edits (some reversions of Ragfin's edits)

Many of these edits are incorrect.

• Kettledrum is one word in Merriam-Webster
• "Commonly" is subjective and unnecessary
• timpani "stick" and timpani "mallet" are both acceptable and commonly used
• saying a timpani is grammatically incorrect; it should be avoided
• this article is a GENERAL OVERVIEW. special cases need not be included for the sake of clarity and brevity. (e.g. timpani with silver bowls)
• The colon is the correct punctuation mark to set off a list. "They have two components: a shaft and a head."
• The added first comma in the following phrase "In his book, Anatomy of the Orchestra, Norman Del Mar writes ..." is incorrect since Norman Del Mar did not write only one book. It does not make sense to remove the phrase... i.e. "In his book, Norman Del Mar writes ..."
  • Actually, I'm not sure about this one. Can someone check me here? The next one I'm fairly certain about, though. 67.163.244.124 (talk) 02:20, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
• Same exact thing in the following: "The 18th century composer, Johann Fischer, wrote ...". It does not make sense to remove the phrase in between commas: "The 18th century composer wrote ..."
• "other than" is correct. "Than" is for comparison; "then" is for time
• An apostrophe is not correct in "1970s" etc. It is a plural, not a possessive or contraction

67.163.244.124 (talk) 02:13, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

"... saying a timpani is grammatically incorrect; it should be avoided..." Really? I've heard this many times from real conductors (the kind one would actually have albums of, not the part-time regional or university sort) as well as timpanists. 75.48.3.183 (talk) 01:13, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

I wonder if we can change "whilst" to "while"? It'd be a lot less pretentious. 110.92.242.133 (talk) 07:42, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

Kettledrum

Are all kettledrums tympani? Andrewa (talk) 21:17, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

I believe so... Philip.t.day talk 23:17, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

@Andrewa (Replying to this decade-old post because I know you are active): Actually, no. All timpani are kettledrums, but not all kettledrums are timpani. Many other encyclopedias, such as Britannica and John H. Beck's Encyclopedia of Percussion specifically point out how they are not the same. If you would like to help me with a new page, visit my sandbox where I am working on a new article to discuss the more historical overview. Why? I Ask (talk) 02:01, 9 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, TIL something. Great start in your sandbox! Not sure I can help but watching with interest. Andrewa (talk) 03:37, 9 January 2024 (UTC)

Is there a formula for the frequency of a kettledrum?

Is there a formula giving the frequency of a kettledrum in terms of the tension of its drumhead, its superficial density and its radius, analogous to the well-known formula ${{1}/{2L}}{\sqrt {{T}/{\mu }}}$ that gives the frequency of a string in terms of its tension, linear density and length? I realize that, contrary to the case of a string, this would have to be a formula specific to the kettledrum, not a property of any circular membrane, since for a two-dimensional membrane the spectrum can be quite complicated and not even give a definite frequency (e.g. the case of the kick drum). Does the book by John Backus "The Acoustical Foundations of Music" have anything about membranophones? Contact Basemetal here 07:43, 23 February 2014 (UTC) Basemetal 14:47, 6 September 2016 (UTC) Basemetal (talk) 15:07, 6 September 2016 (UTC) Basemetal 15:17, 6 September 2016 (UTC)

"List of famous orchestral works"

Isn't this list a tad indiscriminate? Practically every major symphony has a timpani part, so unless those themselves stand out (like in Haydn's Symphony No. 103), they should not be on the list (whose very inclusion in this article is of questionable value). Toccata quarta (talk) 04:36, 26 July 2020 (UTC)