Timbales

As Printed on a Score

French for timpani, abbreviated Timb.; the tuning is usually stated in French note names (ut, ré, mi…) at the start and before each change. In Latin-American, jazz and pop parts, timbales are a different instrument, so the style of the score decides which is meant.

Abbreviations: Timb.

Also spelled: Timbale

How Composers Use It

Each drum is tuned to one pitch at a time, written in bass clef at sounding pitch, and retuning takes time unless the drums have pedals. French scores name the sticks in French — baguettes d’éponge, de bois — and ask for étouffez when a note must be damped. If you mean the Latin instrument, label it unmistakably, for example Timbales (latines), so no timpanist reaches for the kettles.

Example

Ravel, Boléro, full score: the timpani staff is labelled “Timb.” on the abbreviated systems — the French short form for timbales, meaning the orchestral kettledrums.

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