Historically Informed Performance
Stick Choices
The stick choices for use in HIP interpretation on modern instruments is as important as the choice of drums you use, and how you alter the sound of the drum. Stick choices should include an array of sticks of different weights and shaft length, with wood, chamois leather, hard felt or hard flannel heads. The length of the shaft and the weight/size of the head will influence the overall weight of the mallet. The weight of the stick will influence the voice of the instrument by having a direct effect on the actual amount of sound you generate from the drum. The covering will influence the color of the sound you create. Many times using heavy, ornate “table leg” replicas on modern instruments generates way too much sound due to the weight of the stick. On the original instruments, the heavier mallets were necessary in order to get enough sound out of the instrument.
Contrary to the modern concept of a large voiced, pitch-centered and sustained timpani sound, period instruments were purported to have a much smaller voice with a rather thin, transparent, dry “dull” sound with a very short envelope. This was due to the thick heads, shallow depth, and small diameter of the bowl with no significant collar. This made the sound envelope much shorter and the articulation of the sound more apparent, which is a hallmark of much period music. Paying close attention to the relative weight of the stick helps to prevent the larger sizes of modern instruments from creating a boomy or muddy sound, which is not a characteristic of period instruments and the music itself.
Gallery of Mallets by B-Mallets
Although this author prefers to use smaller and lighter wood-disc mallets on modern instruments, for historic wood stick replicas, please visit the site of Wolfgang Gaisböck.
To reiterate, first and foremost, the player needs to have a clear mental/aural concept of the sound that they want to create; then adjust the instruments, sticks, technique, and their interpretation to fit the acoustics of the environment and the stylistic approach of the conductor in order to realize that sound. Again, there is no prescriptive solution, only creativity, imagination, experimentation, and artistry.