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Elements In Space ♦
Elements In Space ♦
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As far as I know, timpani are traditionally tuned only to the tonic, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth of the main scale of the piece. I also know that over time, various devices like pedals and screws have been developed to help re-tune timpani. However, they still seem somewhat cumbersome and, like with harps, require some time for adjustments. This means that the use of timpani may be limited in a piece where the main key could shift one key higher in the middle.

However, what I stumbled upon in the Wikipedia article on timpanithe Wikipedia article on timpani was a bit puzzling --— a chromatic passage for timpani:

enter image description here

Excerpt from the timpani part of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. This chromatic passage has been marked with colored lines connecting notes to be played on the same drum with retuning.

This chromatic passage from the Intermezzo interrotto movement of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra requires the timpanist to use the pedals to play all the pitches. One way of executing this passage is annotated here: The lowest and highest drum stay on F and E♭, respectively. All pedaling is executed on the middle two drums. Each pedal change is indicated by a colored line: red for the larger and blue for the smaller of the middle drums.

I wonder if this is something really odd that has happened only a few times in the history of timpani usage, or if it is a trend that, thanks to advancements in technology, is becoming more common among composers.

As far as I know, timpani are traditionally tuned only to the tonic, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth of the main scale of the piece. I also know that over time, various devices like pedals and screws have been developed to help re-tune timpani. However, they still seem somewhat cumbersome and, like with harps, require some time for adjustments. This means that the use of timpani may be limited in a piece where the main key could shift one key higher in the middle.

However, what I stumbled upon in the Wikipedia article on timpani was a bit puzzling -- a chromatic passage for timpani:

enter image description here

I wonder if this is something really odd that has happened only a few times in the history of timpani usage, or if it is a trend that, thanks to advancements in technology, is becoming more common among composers.

As far as I know, timpani are traditionally tuned only to the tonic, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth of the main scale of the piece. I also know that over time, various devices like pedals and screws have been developed to help re-tune timpani. However, they still seem somewhat cumbersome and, like with harps, require some time for adjustments. This means that the use of timpani may be limited in a piece where the main key could shift one key higher in the middle.

However, what I stumbled upon in the Wikipedia article on timpani was a bit puzzling — a chromatic passage for timpani:

Excerpt from the timpani part of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. This chromatic passage has been marked with colored lines connecting notes to be played on the same drum with retuning.

This chromatic passage from the Intermezzo interrotto movement of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra requires the timpanist to use the pedals to play all the pitches. One way of executing this passage is annotated here: The lowest and highest drum stay on F and E♭, respectively. All pedaling is executed on the middle two drums. Each pedal change is indicated by a colored line: red for the larger and blue for the smaller of the middle drums.

I wonder if this is something really odd that has happened only a few times in the history of timpani usage, or if it is a trend that, thanks to advancements in technology, is becoming more common among composers.

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brilliant
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Is it common in modern classical music for timpani to play chromatic passages?

As far as I know, timpani are traditionally tuned only to the tonic, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth of the main scale of the piece. I also know that over time, various devices like pedals and screws have been developed to help re-tune timpani. However, they still seem somewhat cumbersome and, like with harps, require some time for adjustments. This means that the use of timpani may be limited in a piece where the main key could shift one key higher in the middle.

However, what I stumbled upon in the Wikipedia article on timpani was a bit puzzling -- a chromatic passage for timpani:

enter image description here

I wonder if this is something really odd that has happened only a few times in the history of timpani usage, or if it is a trend that, thanks to advancements in technology, is becoming more common among composers.