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# timpani

«timpani» in Mova's school dictionary: **large, round, bowl-shaped drums made of copper with skin…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (timpani — plural; one drum is a timpano, rare)

### meaning for a pupil

Timpani are large, round, bowl-shaped drums made of copper with skin or plastic stretched over the top, played with soft-headed sticks in an orchestra; they are also called kettledrums. Unlike most drums, each one can be tuned to play a particular note. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In music lessons pupils learn timpani are in the percussion section at the back of the orchestra; the player (timpanist) uses pedals to change the pitch. They make rolls like thunder and dramatic booming beats, for example in "Also sprach Zarathustra" and many symphonies. Phrases: "timpani roll", "play the timpani".

### examples

- The timpani boomed like thunder at the end of the piece. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x1)
- The timpanist tuned the drums with foot pedals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x2)
- Timpani are also called kettledrums. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x3)
- An orchestra usually has two to five timpani. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x4)
- The timpani roll made the music feel scary. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x5)
- Each timpano can play a different note. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x6)
- We saw the timpani at the back of the orchestra. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/#x7)

### note

Plural word from Italian; it takes a plural verb: "The timpani are loud." One drum: "a timpano" (rare) or "one of the timpani". Sometimes spelled "tympani". Pronounced "TIM-puh-nee".

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «timpani» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/timpani/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.