distinctions between the weights of the sticks.

They rely on other principles

of stick construction (for example, core size, core weight, core composi-
tion, and covering) to shape the tone produced by the stick.
Closely tied to stick composition is stick balance. Broadly speaking,
sticks can be head-heavy, evenly balanced, or butt-heavy. Head-heavy mal-
lets have the weight or balance point projected forward. The effect of this is
to allow the mallet heads to penetrate the drumhead and to produce a
deeper fundamental, a point discussed in greater detail below. At the other
extreme, butt-heavy mallets project weight more toward the rear of the
stick. This stick has a tendency to limit the ability of the mallet head to pen-
etrate the drumhead; this stick tends to produce more upper partials and
greater articulation. Balanced sticks represent a golden mean between the
color and articulation: they give the timpanist somewhat greater control
over the variety of tones this stick is capable of producing. The attentive
reader will note that stick balance can be added to stick weight and core di-
ameter to further shape the relative dark or bright character of a sticks
sound.
The core material of the mallet is also important in shaping the tone.
Examples of materials used for cores include wood, felt, cork, and tape.
Wood is the most common core; it elicits the fundamental and a full range
of harmonic partials. It is particularly effective with staccato mallets and
it gives good articulation. Many general mallets (as opposed to staccato or
legato mallets) using wood cores cover it with a very thin strip of felt that
warms the sound of the stick. Felt cores are not as hard as wood cores and,
on the whole, they produce a warmer sound. Cork and tape mallets ordi-
narily weigh less than wood and felt. Cork cores elicit more middle and
upper partials. This means they do not elicit the darker character of the au-
dible fundamental. The shape, size, and weight of the cores differ. Most
cores are either cartwheel or ball (spherical); however, these cores vary in
size. Smaller cores tend to be used on staccato sticks and they get progres-
sively larger in order to bring out progressively darker tones. In general,
heavier cores produce more tone color than lighter cores; thus, heavier
cores (whether wood or felt) can be used effectively in legato mallets where
a broad, resonant, and colorful tone is needed.
The type of mallet covering is also very important in shaping mallet
tone. Today, the common coverings include German (soft) felt, American
(hard) felt, linen, and chamois. As we have seen above, the materials used
in building mallets help determine a sticks ability to draw a particular
tone from the timpano. The same holds true for the kind of material that
covers the core. The history of stick making, in no large part, reects the
desire of timpanists to craft sticks that produce different articulations and
a variety of tone color. The history of timpani mallet construction suggests
that the earliest sticks were made from wood and ivory. Chamois, wool,
and leather was added in the eighteenth century to soften the impact of a
wood or ivory stick on the timpani head. Berlioz pioneered the sponge
stick that later led to the use of piano felt: a material lending itself to a
greater variety of tone color and articulation. Today, felt and linen covers

12 Timpani Tone and the Interpretation of Baroque and Classical Music