Pitched Percussion

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 62. Chapters: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Marimba, Timpani, Güiro, Tubular bell, Steelpan, Handbell, Conga, Balafon, Hang, Cowbell, Tabla, Mridangam, Ghatam, Timbales, Castanets, Tenor drum, Dholak, Chande, Rototom, Mingun Bell, Lithophone, Bongo drum, Maddale, Hank drum, List of conga players, Crotales, Belleplates, Octoban, Handchime, Wood block, Temple block, Pakhavaj, Pixiphone, Malimbe, Yakshagana bells, Handpan, Ðàn dá, Delhi gharana, Caisa, Skrabalai, Glock-Guitar, Gankoqui, Octa-Vibraphone. Excerpt: Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. 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. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of musical ensembles including concert, marching, and even some rock bands. Timpani is an Italian plural, the singular of which is timpano. However, in informal English speech a single instrument is rarely called a timpano: several are more typically referred to collectively as kettledrums, timpani, temple drums, or simply timps. They are also often incorrectly termed timpanis. A musician who plays the timpani is known as a timpanist. First attested in English in the late 19th century, the Italian word timpani derives from the Latin tympanum (pl. tympani), which is the latinisation of the Greek word t¿µpä¿¿ (tumpanon, pl. tumpana), "kettledrum", which in turn derives from the verb t¿pt¿ (tupto), meaning "to strike, to hit". Alternative spellings with y in place of either or both is¿tympani, tympany, or timpany¿are occasionally encountered in older English texts. Whilst the word timpani has been widely adopted in the English language, some English speakers choose to use the word kettledrums. The German word for timpani is Pauken; the French and Spanish is timbales. The Ashanti pair of talking drums are known as atumpan. The tympanum is defined in the Etymologiae of St. Isidore of Seville: The tympanum is skin or hide stretched over a hollow wooden vessel which extends out. It is said by the symphonias to resemble a sieve, but has also been likened to h