Timpani-centric excerpts from RSNO's Mahler Symphony no.1 (05.10.2019)

[@tylerhaddock9583]

Timpani adds so much in this symphony.

[@icejunki]

Great pun but sooo true

[@richardwilliams473]

At 1:50 the female timpanist dampens her drum heads so as to not to interfere with his important timpani solo. BRAVO

[@shinyoshi1687]

I played the piece twice in the past. Nice calfskin instrument, good care for that, solid and clear sound, excellent combination with 2nd lady. My ideal playing! Thank you!

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you for your kind words! 😊

[@nevertheless123]

what a cool compilation bravo to the players

[@richardhuggett8249]

I’m very late to the party, but that was fantastic. I love watching professionals do their work with such meticulous care and passion. Thanks for posting.

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank YOU for your enthusiasm and kind words! 😊

[@icejunki]

My 15 year old who has been learning percussion in Junior High just loved this. He suffers from anxiety and we never thought he'd stick with it when he said he wanted to "hit stuff" and join percussion. The music has helped his confidence immensely. Exposure to music pieces and performances like this video that I can see really inspire him. Thank you.

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi Clem! I’m delighted to hear of your son’s growing confidence! Please extend my very best wishes for his ongoing percussion studies! 🤓

[@hadiza2]

Mr. Philbert is a Musical Superhero in our home..an immense inspiration; a living legend!

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you for your vigorous enthusiasm and kind words! I will do my best to live up to their lofty heights!

[@hadiza2]

@@PaulPhilbert You are the reason that my 11 year old grandson is studying orchestral percussion. We toasted with goblets of ginger ale when you received your MBE. Wishing you continued successes!

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@hadiza2 Oh my, that’s SO lovely to hear! ❤️ ALL best wishes to your grandson! 😊

[@Forestier1]

Bravo! Nerves of steel!

[@Jon-xw9om]

I just love the way a Drummer is always a Drummer first.

[@MrDanfloyd]

such a fantastic sound!

[@Nightowl1981]

I 200% agree! In addition to this nice sound, Paul's intonation is always perfect as well.

[@jamesedwards9690]

I love the way you play :)

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you kindly! :-)

[@AnthonyOTooleMusic]

Excellent! thanks for uploading

[@garyrynar3308]

Awesome playing ,, great chops ..

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you kindly! 😊

[@floricitaphilbert]

Fantastic!! I'd like to see more.

[@zacharybond5326]

Man! I miss your playing! The best in the business!

[@PaulPhilbert]

You are too kind Monsieur! I hope that you are well and that all is GrOoVy with you and yours! 😎

[@smg_sim]

Fantastic Paul hope your both well. Steve from leeds

[@key9675]

fantastic

[@いりはす]

素晴らしい！

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you very much! 🙏🏽

[@Nightowl1981]

I love the sound, character and your perfection, Paul! I was very happy to find this video and I watched it many times. Hope we can meet up sometime again. Cheers from Japan! From, eric

[@PaulPhilbert]

Timpani View ..is that you Eric?!? I can’t make you out from your thumbnail. Hopefully we’ll be able to travel without fear and complication sometime soon! ❤️Japan!❤️

[@Nightowl1981]

@@PaulPhilbert Hi Paul! It's me, eric in Japan. I love your incredible playing! I was really moved by your sounds! Hope that we can meet up again after these Corona times are finished!

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@Nightowl1981 Hi Eric! There’s some speculation that we might be heading to Japan in 2023..! 🤞🏽 I’ll keep you posted.. 😎

[@Nightowl1981]

@@PaulPhilbert Hi Paul!! Awesome! I will be very happy to meet you again, especially in Japan! Cheers, -eric

[@haroldoribeirodecarvalho2334]

Bravoooo!!!!

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thank you kindly! 🙏🏽

[@shin-i-chikozima]

This performance invigorates the human spirit

[@brianwilson9800]

How nice to hear Paul play with such enthusiam! Banyat bagoose lah!

[@PaulPhilbert]

Terima kasih banyak-banyak Encik Wilson! 😊

[@brianwilson9800]

@@PaulPhilbert kesenangan tuan! menantikan bacaan masa depan☘️

[@riccardocuciniello2044]

this is exaggerately powerful

[@piolinochenta9028]

Estudiar hasta que se te funda la cabeza día y noche para realizar tu sueño a lo que a muchos sería irrelevante para ti es sublime, saludos desde Altamira México 🇲🇽🚓

[@PaulPhilbert]

Greetings from Glasgow and good luck with your studies! 😊

[@evanalexischrist8088]

I love this!

[@lethalweaboo8662]

When you mistake a set of mallets for chimes

[@다크나이트다크나-f3o]

형님 최고~~~~~^^

[@YoYo-tq4zo]

Super! Where is the full version?😂

[@PaulPhilbert]

Thanks! I link to the full performance at the end of this video. Enjoy! 😊

[@garyrynar3308]

Paul, once again totally awesome playing... short rolls are killin... every aspect of your playing extraordinary.... can't stop watching.. great Mahler 1.... in your opinion is it ok to use German grip instead of French... more convenient for me.. thank you.. also what cd would you recommend for your playing... Gary

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi Gary, Many thanks for your kind words! In terms of grip, personally, I use both depending on the moment and what feels most comfortable. I encourage everyone to find what works best for them and to pursue that approach vigiurously. Fortunately, we are not all the same, thus you should not be forced into one school or the other.. As for CD recordings, I remain very pleased with pretty much all the stuff that we recorded with the FABULOUS Kees Bakels in my years with the Malaysian Philharmonic! Also, there's an RSNO recording of Delibes Ballet Suites with Neeme Jarvi that was great fun to record! For something a tad different, please check out Thomas Wilson Symphony No.5 (RSNO), and then there's the award winning recording of both Chopin's Piano Concertos with Benjamin Grosvenor and Elim Chan! I used the baby Wiener Pauken for those, and I just love the sound! :-)

[@robertatallo9771]

BOOM*BOOM

[@Betofrota.]

Mano vc eh Top....sou aqui de sao paulo br Mano quero ser seu aluno!!!!! Como faco?

[@PaulPhilbert]

You’re very kind, thanks! Currently I teach at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and also at the Leeds Conservatoire of Music here in the UK. If you are able, please apply! 😊

[@shin-i-chikozima]

This familiar masterpiece is comfortable to the ears and the mind From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵

[@d4ncheng529]

thanks a lot for sharing the beautiful sounds of the drums~ Could you give us some guide on why you change drum sticks regularly, and what sounds do each pair of sticks make? they look similar from afar.

[@gbassman5341]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnymfKNsYrJqoLc

[@PaulPhilbert]

Dear d4ncheng, thank you for your interest. I have very many pairs of sticks. I will start a project with many different pairs of sticks out and will try different pairs throughout the rehearsal process and will distill my selection as I go. By the time of the performances, I tend to change sticks depending on the practical and musical requirements of any given passage. As the sticks appear, from left to right, they range from very soft and quite heavy, to lighter but extremely hard compressed felt (sounding almost identical to wood). The feel of each pair of sticks can also be quite different and I find that this can transform my expressive relationship with the head of the timp. This may sound strange, but it's difficult to put into words.. it is very much about the balance of the sticks and how they move in my hands, coupled with the sound that they produce on the head with minimal physical interference from me (essentially a neutral, very relaxed stroke). From this place I can then change my physicality to alter the attack, articulation, timbre, depth of sound, colour etc.. I do hope that this makes sense! :-)

[@d4ncheng529]

@@PaulPhilbert thanks for the tutorial!!! I can feel your passion. It's from mechanic sense to acoustic sense. It's like Martial arts. Looking forward to hearing more.

[@junbofu5196]

Hi Paul, amazing video. I just attended this symphony over here in Ireland a couple of days ago. I'm currently an aspiring professional percussionist, only a first year in college! I was wondering where you bought your timpani mallets from? All the best

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi Bo Fu, thanks for your message! Most of my mallets are made by Bernard Yong (search for “B-Mallets”) he’s based in Singapore and also Paul Turner (Principal Timpanist of the BBC Philharmonic). Very best wishes to you too!

[@owencook2404]

Hey Paul. Got a weird 2 part question to ask 😂 as it seems you use Kato mallets (if I am wrong correct me please 😂) and if so where do you get them and what would you say would be the best models to get and would you get the same “model” with different head sizes too or? Regards, Owen

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi Owen, thanks for your curiosity! In fact, I do not (yet..!!.. 🤓) own a pair of Kato mallets. The vast majority of my sticks are made by either Bernard Yong (B-Mallets) in Singapore or Paul Turner (BBC Philharmonic). Stick choice is a VERY personal business and I’ve been very fortunate that both Bernard and Paul have been happy to respond to my requests. I cannot recommend their magnificent craftsmanship highly enough! That said, my favourite mallets may well not be yours, so I would simply encourage you to explore this vast and varied world in search of perfection. It will seldom disappoint you! 😊

[@owencook2404]

@@PaulPhilbertwhere can I find the mallets that Paul makes?? I’d like to see his own ones. I’ve used Sean Hoopers and Angelini mallets and still not found my kind of brand yet 🥲

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@owencook2404 you can find Paul via Facebook! He’s on my friends list. Drop him a line from there. 😊

[@alvaro24pb]

Hello Paul!! Why at the end of each strong doubling do you let the drumsticks bounce off the timbal and you don't continue with the normal doubling?

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi @alvaropanosbeltra9808, thanks for your comment. I don't entirely understand your question. Can you be more specific please? Thanks! :-)

[@mariorodriguez2299]

You push the head at the end of the roll !!! For mi sound bad ( not define the end )

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@mariorodriguez2299 sorry! 😳

[@GOLDSMITHEXILE]

why do you sometimes slump over the drum's? Are you listening to them or adjusting something?

[@PaulPhilbert]

Hi. Thanks for your interest. The heads on these instruments are made of calfskin and, whilst they sound warmer and more full-bodied than plastic heads (IMO), they are sensitive to changes in humidity, temperature and pressure and can be quite volatile sometimes. I’m leaning over to check the pitch as discretely as possible and hopefully not disturb my colleagues during the performance. I do hope that this answers your query. 😊

[@GOLDSMITHEXILE]

@@PaulPhilbert Ah, natural skins....like sea weed, you can tell when rain is imminent, when they slacken off with the humidity. I believe older drummers sometimes had a light bulb inside their snare drum to keep its calf skin head snappy. I have some frame drums I built myself using goatskins. On occasion they are at a perfect tension when the climate is just right. I happily drop everything to sound them at those times and feel the vibe, without having to moisten them with a damp cloth or wave them around in the air for a few minutes. But to be honest, the more I use natural skins, the more I think why ever did plastic become so ubiquitous! Theres so much variety and intricacy in each skin

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@GOLDSMITHEXILE I couldn’t agree more! Natural skins FTW! 👍🏽🤓👍🏽

[@thefrankonion]

Tuning them.

[@sidoniealegre2469]

How many rimbani mallet ave you ?

[@PaulPhilbert]

LOTS! But many are in rotation to ensure that I always have a good selection at the peak of their playability. Also, depending on the repertoire, some get used much more than others.

[@sidoniealegre2469]

And you ?

[@PaulPhilbert]

@@sidoniealegre2469 they make good mallets, but I use mostly B-Mallets, by Bernard Yong (Singapore) and Paul Turner’s (BBC Philharmonic).

[@sidoniealegre2469]

@@PaulPhilbert ok thanks

[@Symphorch]

Mr. Philbert, I just want to join these other fine commenters in lauding your performance here. It's always fabulous to see what the last (best) row is doing. This coming from a trombonist who moonlights as a timpanist every so often. As a technical question, what was your approach on getting your rolls to be that fast? I've noticed many UK/Greater European timpanists are able to execute faster rolls without showing tension. I find mine to be rather wide, which doesn't always sound great to my ears on the smaller instruments. Appreciate any advice, sir!

[@PaulPhilbert]

Dear @Symphorch, thank you for your kind words and enquiry! With regard to roll speed, I'd say that it's of utmost importance to relax. Beyond that, I try to allow the "bounce" of the stick to do as much work for me as possible and then using the pivot point (between 1st finger & thumb), then fingers, then flexible wrists, and then arms to the elbow, and beyond (if necessary), in that order, to help me to return the stick to the head in order to repeat the cycle. Throughout this it very important to do your very best to stay relaxed! The basis of your technique and choice of mallet could make all of the above easier, or harder for you, so it's worth trying out many different methods and types of stick until you find something that works for you. Beyond that, focussed practice should help you to obtain a more controlled, consistent and faster roll. These are just my thoughts. I do hope that you find them useful. 😊 All best wishes to you!