Meaning & use
tympani
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
A set of large, bowl-shaped drums played in an orchestra, tuned to specific pitches.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun: the tympani are tuned. The singular 'tympano' is very rare.
Patterns
- play the tympani
- the tympani in an orchestra
The tympani thunder in the final movement of the symphony.
She has played the tympani with the city orchestra for ten years.
The conductor asked the tympani to play more softly.
Common combinations
- play the tympani
- He learned to play the tympani in college.
- tympani player
- The tympani player sat at the back of the orchestra.
- a set of tympani
- The school bought a new set of tympani for the band.
Synonyms and how they differ
- timpani
- This is the more common and standard spelling; 'tympani' is a variant that appears in older texts.
- kettledrums
- A less formal term for the same instruments, often used in everyday speech.
Word family
- timpanist noun
- A person who plays the timpani.
- timpani noun
- The standard spelling of the same word.
Commonly confused: tympani or tympanum?
tympani vs tympanum
A tympanum is a different word: it can mean the eardrum or a decorative panel. Do not confuse it with the drums.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'tympani' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Tympani are large orchestral drums, so sentence B is correct. An is wrong because they are not flutes; C is wrong because they are not played on a piano; D is wrong because they are percussion, not strings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tympani”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.