KITCHEN TYMPANI

Instruments in which the vibrating element is a membrane are MEMBRANOPHONES

These were almost the first instruments to be constructed: tympani immediately give a piece of music an orchestral sound!

The bodies are made from aluminium industrial soup cauldrons that are about one metre in diameter. We decided we would not use traditional or contemporary drum-heading materials but Kevlar sailcloth. We rely on the African two-ring method to keep the skins in place and the tuning mechanism comes from fence turnbuckles. These are loud instruments, capable of fine-tuning to specific notes though they can be somewhat temperamental...

Another Membranophones built for the Lost and Found Orchestra include CONKS (see below).

Click on the images to hear a sample...