Timpani are tuned drums, each covering about a fifth. A standard set of four covers roughly D2 to A3, and a piccolo timpano reaches C4.
Timpani registers
| Register | Range | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Largest drum | About D2 to A2 | The deepest, boomiest drum, used for low pedal points and big hits. |
| Middle drums | About F2 to F3 | The core of most timpani writing, where tonic and dominant usually sit. |
| Smallest drum | About D3 to A3 | Brighter and more pitched. A piccolo drum adds notes up to C4. |
Writing for the timpani
- Each drum covers only about a fifth. Notes that are not already on a drum need time for the player to retune with the pedal.
- Write the tuning at the start of the part and any changes with enough rests to make them.
- Rolls are written as tremolo. Single, accented hits carry further than you expect.
The timpani in sample libraries
Sampled timpani let you play any note at any moment, with no retuning time. Check a fast timpani line against the four drums a player actually has before it goes to a session.
The full range is every note a professional can produce. The practical range is narrower on purpose, leaving out the notes only strong players produce reliably. The figures here are cross-checked between orchestration references, and where they disagree the practical range takes the more conservative one.
See every instrument on one chart, or check a whole MIDI file against these ranges, in the instrument range chart.