The Evolution of Timpani Pitch
The sound quality of the early “outdoor” cavalry timpani has been documented as being less than desirable. Sebastian Virdung, Musica getutscht (1511) referred to kettledrums as “monstrous rattletraps” (Ungeheure Rumpelfässer) and “the ruination of all sweet melodies and of all music.” Curt Sachs, in his The History of Musical Instruments, translates this phrase as “rumbling barrels.”27 Were these “outdoor” timpani even suitable for concerted performances?
As with the evolution of any instrument, timpani have seen many changes through the centuries. Any new innovation or addition to the instrument was heralded as a triumph in advancing the pitch of the instrument. How has the actual “pitch” of timpani evolved through the centuries, and how did the early evolution of timpani pitch spawn the advent of the orchestral timpanist early in the 18th century?
Scientific Facts: For a timpano, the head (membrane) is in fact, the only viable source for the production of a pitched sound that can be varied or shifted to any significant degree. Fleischer & Fastl What determines the pitch of the membrane are its diameter, mass and tension. The fundamental or mode 01 of an ideal circular membrane is given by: HyperPhysics
Where
The temperature and density of the air, both inside and outside of the bowl (air loading and viscothermal characteristics), has a significant influence on how the instrument produces a sense of “harmonic” pitch as well. However, the bowl of the timpano itself plays only a minor and secondary role in the production of pitch. The main function of the bowl is to act as system modifier (baffled radiator). The diameter, depth and contour of the bowl determine the internal air volume, which defines the internal air modes. Some of these internal air modes can (and do) couple with the upper partials of the membrane helping to align them into more of an “harmonic” order. Due to the finite volume of air in the bowl, this “harmonic alignment” of the upper partials is not consistent for each note through the range of the drum. Hence, each note on a drum will tend to have a slightly different overtone structure. The most “harmonic” overtone structure is usually found in the middle range of a drum, which is often referred as the Goldilocks Zone or the Sweet Spot. The mass and materials from which the bowl is made affects how the bowl absorbs/deflects mechanical energy generated by the displacement of the internal air influencing the resonance and sustain of the vibrating membrane.
This section will investigate the head itself, and how it has evolved influencing the sound and pitch of the instrument, as well as the advent of the “timpani player” in concerted music. To learn about the evolution of timpani pitch during the past five centuries, please progress through the pages below.