Generally
adopted name for a pair of single-headed, cylindrical drums. They are primarily
associated with the Latin American dance band, where they are usually teamed
with one or two cowbells; the player’s rhythmic patterns also involve hitting
the outside of the drum shell (they must thus be classified as both
membranophones and idiophones). The metal shells have a depth of about 18 cm
and a diameter of between, usually, 33 and 36 cm, though instruments as small
in diameter as 20 cm and as large as 38 cm may be found. While timbales were
usually used in the late 20th century as unpitched percussion instruments,
their screw-tensioned heads, invariably of plastic, produce definable notes
that have been employed by composers. Malcolm Lipkin’s Interplay (1975)
for recorder, harpsichord, bass viol and percussion uses six timbales tuned to G,
B
, B, c,
d and e instead of timpani. In
French terminology, ‘timbale’ signifies kettledrum, see Drum and ‘timbales’ (or
occasionally ‘tymbales’) Timpani; ‘timbale mécanique’ refers to a
kettledrum with pedal-operated tuning (see Timpani,
§1; details
of Adolphe Sax’s timbales chromatiques (1857) are given in §5).
JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND