“My Band Director Says I Need to Play Timpani… Now What?
(A Beginner’s Guide to Setup, Tuning, and Technique)”
Rick Gardner is a percussion specialist with over 40 years of experience in music education across Western Kentucky, including 28 years serving students in Muhlenberg County.
Throughout his career, Rick served as the Director of Percussion Activities at Muhlenberg County High School and taught percussion across numerous programs, including Calloway County, Madisonville North Hopkins, Bremen, Muhlenberg Central, Muhlenberg South, and Muhlenberg North high schools. His experience as an educator and clinician has led him to work on band camp staffs for more than 30 high school programs across Kentucky and Tennessee, alongside an active role as a regional percussion adjudicator.
In 2014, Rick founded the West Kentucky Percussion Festival (westkypercussion.org), which has grown into the state’s largest percussion education event, hosting top-tier clinicians and educators from across the nation.
His ongoing contributions to music education have earned statewide recognition, including the Friend of Music Award from the Kentucky Third District Music Educators Association (2016) and being named Outstanding Contributor to Bands by the Kentucky Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity (2024).
Rick is an active member of the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). He currently serves as Secretary for the Kentucky Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society and is the founder and webmaster of kyband.com.
The timpani clinic includes information on: Mallet Selection, Playing Area, Playing Rolls, Tuning Tips, Drum Sizes, Drum Ranges, Learning Intervals, Moving the Drums, Ordering Heads, Replacing Heads, Spring Tension Adjustment, and more.