LSO Masterclass - Timpani

[kaitlynjulehall]

does any one know what sticks he is using in the first half of the video?! I love their sound.

[gwaur]

Such a huge and powerful instruments -- such a polite and modest player.

[CCConservatory]

thanks for your thoughtful reply.

To be clear, by "32s" I was indicating the 32" drum(s), not 32d notes.

[BrotherDown1]

I love how Nigel is so soft spoken, yet so passionate about playing the Timpani and when he plays he brings the thunda!!!

[CCConservatory]

Personally I think his rolls are too fast. Especially on the 32s. Doesn't let the deep bowl sound resonate -- it's too much head. But then he's in the LSO and the rest of us are not.

[DrumTchr]

@CCConservatory For YOUR taste maybe. But he is playing his singles in 16th note triplets and later in 32nd notes because that's the effect and sound he wanted. Yeah, must be a reason why he got the LSO gig. In all due respect to you however, maybe he got the gig under a different conductor and the conductor now would prefer the sound that you would achieve with how you would downstroke rolls. We all have to make these musical decisions when we execute passages.

[schnozz87]

@CCConservatory Part of the problem is that it doesn't sound like they have much in the way of boundary microphones in the room, when they turn his speaking mic down there are only close mics on the drums, so all you hear is head. I agree about the sound here, but at The Barbican the LSO timps always sounds pretty huge...

[tenniscrazy2]

I wish I could hear what he's saying =(

[Isntthisalreadytaken]

I watch him let the heads of those mallets touch, and I feel their pain.

[MatthewKaras]

At 2:50, he tuned the middle drum up a whole tone in a few seconds. Is it normal to write such a fast tuning change?

[youngergermanpope]

@MatthewKaras hmmm.... if you're advanced enough yes. It is usually seen when you have less than enough drums. (You have 2 timpani when you need 3 etc.....)

[CCConservatory]

Do you REALLY tune using gauges? What about your ears?

[youngergermanpope]

@CCConservatory you can't really tune using your ears when there's quick pedaling changes. Plus I bet he set the gauges just before the video to save time.

[TOTALITARIO999]

@CCConservatory MOST Pro. Timpani have gauges...

[numanuma20]

I play a drum set. Would this be easy for me?

[fyremax6226]

@numanuma20 You have to be able to tune the drums by ear. If you are wrong, it sticks out badly.

That double sticking on typmani is tough!

[fortesimo]

@fyremax6226 Its called double stroking btw.

[youngergermanpope]

@numanuma20 Hmm...... there's not as much multitasking while playing timpani, as opposed to drumset. Think of timpani as skiing: It's easy to pick up, but to be truly great is extremely difficult

[TOTALITARIO999]

@numanuma20 only if you know how to read music...

[samdajellybeenie14]

From 6:34 - 6:58 is sick

[LateHeist]

it'd be fun to see what this dude would get up to if put behind a drum kit haha.

[youngergermanpope]

are those chamois dampers?

[NoiseMostBeautiful]

amazing! I remember sections while playing in the highschool band where they would swell the notes as they played them. epic instrument!

[StraightNoChaser86]

@NoiseMostBeautiful swell notes?

[rodrigotimbal]

Excelent!!!!!!!

[ilovemutemath]

2:46 - 3:04 is so so sick.

[tbwff]

Brilliant !!

[Hyenashowl]

You can't play timpani and not sound epic.

[Qazic12]

Talk louder Nigel, I can't hear you.

[kinetiknz]

Very nice. i love how relaxed you are playing those rolls.

[PaddyMacNasty]

Speaks very quietly for someone who plays such a loud instrument.

[TOTALITARIO999]

@PaddyMacNasty he isnt speaking quietly the drums are just loud!

[Summary1900]

Why there are so many bad comments. I Like the video

[rjm1009]

yeah fucking right...you are retarded

[XylussN]

Shows how much you know.

[BVTA69]

someone from slipknot plays timpani

[mattliebl6199]

yes it is the clown. if u watch psychosocial u can see a few parts of him play two timpani

[mdtobe]

wonderful sound

I've never heard such good sound by

timpani

[finalconsecration]

"an german"

levin312,

I am dissapoint

[finalconsecration]

Trolled

[Marluxia84]

oh, you were just trollin? lol

[SirGlennGould]

I must agree, today most people like the timpani because the cover "epic" roles in the movie's soundtracks. The days of the more romaticized rimpani are over. I myself like the epic aspect but herbert Von Karajan new how to use them with sentiment.

[IBTwist]

I play timpani. IT IS FUN,but boring having to count like 5 measure rests

[petrpulc]

I'm also a timpanist (in not that big orchestra) and I don't really think playing timpani is that much fun. It really depend on people around you and your conductor. And it is a lot more responsible than playing e.g. violin. And counting? Take a look at Czech Mass by J. J. Ryba. I have to count like 130 beats before playing. Hopefully that part is pretty quick.

[XylussN]

It's good to write in cues for yourself when playing timpani, like make a mark so that you know when the brass does this im about to play and such.

And there are many pieces that are extremely difficult and technical to play that are really fun to play.

[6DADADA]

What are you talking about, Timpani is the best percussion instrument, even though sometimes u have to rest for a while.( In one song i rest for 85 measures but i get the best part of the song)

[mayonnaise0]

Someone want to argue with me? Miketimp send me a message earlier this week to claimed that he plays for the "world's finest orchestra" (Fort Collins Symphony, which I never heard of, unfortunately...) and I was blamed for "trashing his playing". So I guess I might explain why I refered to his amazing playing as crap:

1. the tone doesn't come out

2. he made massive skin contact sound throughout the piece

3. his phrasing is stiff

4. the muffling is inaccurate and sudden

Everyone happy????

[apollogodofstars]

bum bum bum bum, bumbumbumbum bum bum

[benho6251]

A very nice masterclass. Thank you. Your technique is VERY IMPRESSIVE and your advice is right on the money! Did you suceed Kurt Geodickie as principal Timpanist? He was my original inspiration to study drums and I've never had the chance to thank him.

[mayonnaise0]

I think it would be embrassing for Nigel Thomas and Neil Percy to admit that these are the entries they have picked...of all the finalists in the timpani and percussion section except cymbal crash(which is very difficult to judge based on recording), only SebD82, owainawilliams and natanikson are up to a reasonable standard the rest of them are shall I say crap, or maybe bizzare choices if I really want to be polite!

[mayonnaise0]

I was also wondering if anyone got notified as finalist? Also where did the videos of the Turkish timpanist disappear? As it looked like his video never turn up in the view page....it's going to be silly if he's not chosen because of this as apparantly he's definitely world class!

[skodas]

i know of only 1 drummer who has used just one Timpani and that is Mr Brian Bennett of the shadows look out for Captin haddock is missing on yt he plays it

[91musiclover]

I guess compared to the violins the timpani spot is actually more competitive (1 in 30). It looks like there are about 300 violins that entered, but if they pick 32 players (1st and 2nd), that is 1 in 16. On the other hand there appears to be over 150 clarinets for 2 spots...ouch! Of course, I could be counting incorrectly

[mayonnaise0]

Just watched someone from France used calf heads on a set of ringer type drums, it should be banned...lol

The guy's mediocre but the calf head just made it sound hell of a lot nicer.

[yupt1]

Does anyone know how long it should take to be able to see your videos on the "VIEW" page after uploading them? I uploaded my videos last night and still can't seem to find them....

[ctzerbe1]

It looks like your video finally showed up. My submition took about a day to post as well.

I don't know if all have the submitions have posted yet but it looks like there are 25-30 timpani entries. I was expecting there would be 100.  I thought there might be a lot more university students, but maybe the timing over Christmas had an impact on that.

Good Luck.

[mayonnaise0]

The timp section is not all that bad at least there are some really good players...but if you look at the snare drum section you see all sort of bastardised playing of Scheherazade...

[ctzerbe1]

One thing that strikes me on many of the timpani videos is how poorly most of the recorders perform audio wise. Many of them have lots of background buzz or hiss. They do not accurately reproduce the timpani sound. It would seem that this problem is not nearly so pronounced with the wind and string videos I have heard.

I see nobody went for the note change that was in the score, on the repeated C/E at the beginning. I think the LSO recording matched the timpani part and not the score.

[mayonnaise0]

Apparently most people have no clue how to record percussion instruments properly. I mean even with a digital camera there are various ways to muffle the microphone so it doesn't clip all the time. This implies a rather striking fact to me as well: most people NEVER record and listen to their own playing! I understand this could be a bit of hassle but it really help to improve if someone can be aware of their own problems...

[yupt1]

Yea, I also expected many many more timpani submissions, but it can also be tough to film a timpani audition if you have limited access to the instruments (especially over the winter holidays, as you suggested).

Good luck to you as well!

[mayonnaise0]

Alright, I think they have already got an winner, a gangster looking man form Turkey....

Particularly, his Beethoven 9 is almost....flawless!

[91musiclover]

If it is the same one I saw, he is quite good, but the the hall is so live you can't hear any subtleties in his playing. Also his music stand is right in the middle of the video so you can see very little of his technique.

Even a middle school kid will have smooth sounding rolls if they are playing in a room as live as that. His video also went well past the 5:00 minute limit so they may not even hear the Beethoven.

[mayonnaise0]

Sounds like the one I was talking about but why are you being so critical about such amazing performance? The qualitiy of recording is quite bad but the rolls are definitely good, you can cheat on the flow of the music and the way that the tension is built up, if you have trained ears you can still recognise the finess of his playing.

[mayonnaise0]

i meant to say you can't cheat...

[mayonnaise0]

Did anyone watched the video a kid from Hong Kong just uploaded? I'm absolutely impressed. I think his playing is gonna make lots of older players feel intimidated! Absolutely fantastic!

[LilDrummerBoy74]

I dont mean to be a buzzkill but does anyone else think the second lowest timp flat at the allegro vivace part at 2:46?

[CaptainYutube]

I think so...

[LSSOpercussion1991]

The problem is we're hearing it as a harmonic with all the overtones. The further you get from the timps the closer they'll sound to perfect, you're supposed to tune slightly under to get perfectly in tune.

[mayonnaise0]

Yes, I remember Tim Genis talking about the same thing you just said, if you tune them right on the pitch it would just be sharp.

[M4S1cM4N]

I am super excite for the audition entry....i started practice and haven't stopped to breath since.

[AIRTUHAPMT]

YouTube Symphony Orchestra: the Competition is not open to residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country.

pathetic

[capt1jay]

This seems totally counter to the concept. Are you certain this is true? If it is so, we all must lobby our governments to to include all people of our little planet. Art is a Human endeavor, and no political limits should be imposed by anyone!

JJMann

[prismacolored]

It's true. It's in the official rules. :/ Really uncool.

[bowiedj]

Is Mr. Thomas monitoring this channel? Because I have a question to be asked. In the list of recommended piece, from the YouTube Symphony channel, it says Beethoven 9th Symphony, is among the list of recommendation. While, in this presentation, Nigel mentioned Beethoven the 8th. My question is, which one is right? Thanks. Bowie Jakarta, Indonesia

[ctzerbe1]

I posted the same question last week and received no response.

[bowiedj]

well, thanks... hmm.. is there any ways to get in touch with Nigel? Coz I click his link to the LSO players and there isn't any link to get back to him. Probably somebody has to respond to these questions indeed. thanks

[Banzaibuddy]

The pieces posted for the audition are only recommended, not required, so you can play whatever you want.

[Banzaibuddy]

Nevermind, I just re-read it.

[ctzerbe1]

I got the following reply to this question:

Only pieces from the official list are allowed for the talent video and only the first 5 minutes of any submission will be considered!

Kind regards,

the YouTube Symphony Team

[bowiedj]

I love timpani

[mtranoudakis]

mr.Thomas!!!!! great video!!! you are great!! you still playing toFu mallets!!!! ????

[Sinjinator]

I looooooove these mustard classes! I have these big metal oil drums in the backyard and I'm gonna whack em with sticks! Esp. in bar 8 I'm gonna work that Glue... and then peddling em too... whoa dude. You should see how wide open my ears are! And yes, I would. Play that, that is.

[dorfischer]

lol is this a joke?...

[Sinjinator]

It had better be, right? ;)

[dorfischer]

this was supposed to be a reply to a comment please don't take notice of it the masterclass was great and i'm looking forward to submitting my video

[100flyingfish]

smoothe

[BitchIStoleYourFish]

cool instr

[OxiCleanFTW]

he is amazing.

[jesusfreakforeal]

I love the timpani and would enter the YT orchestra except i do not own any sort of instrument. Would a Homemade set work? I know that is far beyond professional.

[pheaknix]

No, don't do that. If I were you, instead, is stop by the local high school, and talk to the directors and see if there's a time where you could borrow the school's music room for recording, practice and then ask if you can borrow it for like 30-45 minutes. Also, you could check local music shops, colleges, or middle schools. Don't bother with primary/elementary schools. But many middle schools have a half-way decent set, and high schools have a better set.

[Montiverdi78]

Yes, 32/32/29/26/23.

[ctzerbe1]

It sounds like the 3rd drum from the bottom is not what I would call the "standard" 26" timpani. Are you using 32/32/29/26/23 configuration?

[stripe87]

Yes, I've been wondering the same thing... Beethoven's 8th or 9th?

[ctzerbe1]

Nigel, I am a little confussed. You are talking about Beethoven's 8th Symphony, but that is not one of the 3 pieces listed on the audition YouTube timpani list -

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9: Mvts. I and II

Brahms: Symphony No. 1: Mvt. I opening; Mvt. IV

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4: Mvt. I

[drummerboy7516]

he's not talking about the eigth symphony he is talking about the eight mesure of the pice he plays go to the page of them and in a part its just timpany

[ctzerbe1]

I think you must not have listened to the entire video. After the Tan Dun section 4:40, Niles demonstrates excerpts from Beethoven's 8th Symphony

[drummerboy7516]

you are right i didn't finish teh video befor i posted my comment but if you listen it is something to do with the type of mallets you use and thats why he brings it up

[TacticusPrime]

He's the guy helping screen the auditions for the timpani, so play what he says and include one of the other pieces as well. At least that's what I'd do.

[Sinjinator]

You know what they say: Speak softly, but carry a big stick!

[asuno]

Amazing choice as a second audition piece! Beethoven's 8th has always been one of my personal favorite timpani parts. I look forward to auditioning.

[MacayaSnow]

Very Nice!!!

Pau

[FFAGrimReaper]

A very good master-class; thank you.