“Kirk expertly manages the arduous task of paying homage both consciously and unconsciously to the classics of our symphonic literature while still adding contemporary rhythmic language, tuning, and organicism in the original compositions. Congratulations on a terrific new text combining musicianship with graduated technical study in one terrific text, which I have already added to our required materials at Florida State!”

“Kirk Gay's Pedal to the Kettle is a wonderfully challenging book and a significant contribution to the timpani pedagogy. Brimming with creativity, humor, and musical inspiration, Gay has composed a variety of quality two and four drum timpani etudes and solos that encourage the high school and college timpanist to make musical decisions on sticking, mallet choice, interpretation, and developing one's concept of sound. Including over 35 works from beginning to advanced levels, Pedal to the Kettle is one of the best collection of timpani pieces I have seen in a long time.”

“Kirk Gay has done a fantastic job putting together a book of timpani pieces that are both technically challenging but very musical. My students have enjoyed working on his pieces, and I've enjoyed the ability to teach them to play musically with his book.”

“Thoughtful and coherent, Kirk has created solid, basic studies and tastefully deployed excerpts that are bound to develop relevant technique. "Pedal to the Kettle" stays focused on the essential elements that will nurture all aspiring timpanists.”

“Timpanists at all levels of ability will benefit from using “Pedal to the Kettle.” It displays a very creative approach to the art of timpani playing. The etudes and solos are imaginative and fun to play. They cover a wide range of techniques, and musical challenges. I especially appreciate the author’s explanations of what is to be accomplished with each etude. This book will be an excellent addition to any timpanist’s library and one I will be using with my students for a long time.”

“Kirk Gay's masterful new book, "Pedal to the Kettle", is the hippest, most enticing work I've ever seen for timpani. Of course, I HAVE to say that because he dedicated "Etude #25: Extend Yourself", to little ol' me! Kirk's compositions are creative, musical, challenging and fun, and include material for beginners through advanced players. Bravo, Kirk!”

“This is a very creative collection of etudes and solos for timpani. The text has 67 jam-packed pages of material, which will provide excellent training and experience for young to advanced timpanists. The text is divided into etudes for two drums and four drums, and each offers a variety of technical and musical challenges. The etudes often are based on famous passages from the orchestra literature, but the themes are just jumping-off motives, and the development is extensive for each.

Many contrasting meters, tempi, dynamics, and styles are covered. The collection concludes with several solos, in which the composer expands the timpani color by adding a snare drum, cymbal, and contrasting stick colors. The book opens with two pages in which the author presents some excellent suggestions on how to practice and how to get the maximum benefit from the etudes and solos in the text. This should become one of the more popular texts for teaching timpani to the college timpanist.”