Timpani Repair

Repairing timpani seems to be very difficult. It's not as difficult as you think in most instances. I often get calls from directors saying that their timpani are just not holding pitch, and the pedal won't stay toe-down. Most of the time the fix is simple. Tune the drum to the fundamental pitch with the heel down. The fundamental pitch varies depending on what kind of drums you have. It's important to know that so you are tuning the drum to the correct pitch (see charts below). When the drum is tuned correctly to the fundamental pitch, the pedal will hold.