Sean Hooper first took an interest in stick making when he was a student at the Royal College of Music. He was very dissatisfied with the range of sticks available to timpanists and percussionists.
Most of the sticks and mallets available were commercially made, and not well designed or constructed. Research into the best materials and methods of manufacture of sticks eventually led to him being able to supply sticks to fellow students and professional musicians. Those who have used Sean's sticks include Kurt-Hans Goedicke, former timpanist of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Now, many years later, his commitment to the highest standards of craftsmanship has remained as passionate as ever, and every stick and mallet is hand made throughout, even the budget range student timpani sticks.
Sean's wish to make good sticks more widely available has led to him giving lectures on timpani stick manufacture and maintenance at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Kent Music School, and The Royal Academy of Music. Sean's philosophy is that whether or not a student chooses to make sticks, a more informed knowledge of the manufacture and design involved will lead to more informed choice
Timpani or Kettledrums
I've always called hand tuned timpani "Kettledrums", and most players I know use the word for hand tuned timpani, but I think Kettledrums is an archaic phrase rather than there being a technical distinction between Timpani and Kettledrums.
Whatever the reason, it's interesting to see the Kettledrum sticks described and recommended in old Timpani and Kettle drum tutors, and compare them to what is widely available nowadays. Heads were often just a disc of hard felt, and handles were frequently whippy Malacca cane. Some kettledrum tutors I read said that the whippy cane helped, especially with the roll, but I always found it tended to make the height of the stroke a bit unpredictable. The first kettledrum sticks I had were like this and sounded really terrible – they also broke quite a few calfskins! Later on rigid wood handles became fashionable, and were something of an improvement, but lacked "feel" – they were very lifeless.
The most important thing, whether you call your drums Kettledrums or Timpani, is to understand how they work and what sticks to choose. If you are playing the drums that usually get called Kettledrums – hand – tuned and/or calfskin head – you will probably prefer to use the cork centre options in my range as they are lighter. The difference is most noticeable in models 2 – 5, and the way in which the lighter heads of the sticks tend to bring out a rather lighter sound, but a sound that still has warmth, really suits this type of drum. A calfskin Kettledrum/Timpani head may still sound better with cork centred Kettledrum/Timpani sticks when fitted to pedal mechanism Timpani. The same is true of fibreglass Kettledrum/Timpani shells. If you aim to match the size and weight of your Kettledrum/Timpani sticks to match the Kettledrums/Timpani you are playing you won't go far wrong.
I'd like to expand this page to become a resource for Timpanists [Kettle drummers!] everywhere; there are loads of good drum kit websites with playing and teaching advice, but I haven't found as much help out there for the Timpanist.
To get the ball rolling, three tips I've found useful when teaching tuning:
1. Teacher or student plays a note on a tuned instrument. The student sings it back, and then a series of random notes is played rapidly and loudly. Try to sing the original note again – quite tricky at first!
2. Play a note, sing it, then go off to watch TV, have a meal etc. Afterwards sing the note and then play it- see if the note has slipped!
3. A tip for Kettledrums/Timpani tuned via a clutch mechanism pedal. Play a continuous pulse on the drum, put your foot on the pedal, depress the clutch with the toe so that the pedal is no longer held by the clutch, reverse the action and take your foot off the pedal. All the while the note mustn't change.
If you learn on hand tuned drums this will really help your tuning – no need to have to trust the gauge!
Great news! Randy Max, Timpanist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, has brought out a must have book of orchestral excerpts and advice for Timpanists, including ear training and advice on practicing, including practicing for an audition. I'll certainly be advising my students to buy a copy.
Check out the book via this link: http://www.randymax.com
If you have any ideas/tips/requests please let me know.