What was the timpanist doing?

[Dilbertian]

Promming at the Royal Albert Hall, way up in the Gallery. (Wish I had binoculars!) During every concert we've seen that had timpani, the timpanist kept putting his head on the drums. It looked like he was listening to them. I know that they can be tuned, and he did that during the tuning-up, tapping the drums, listening and adjusting, just like the other players. But what was he doing during the concert in between his parts?

Depends. A significant number of percussionists are deaf or hard of hearing, so might have been listening to the vibrations.

Could have been checking the resonance/they were still in tune after use.

Or just having a bit of a nap. Drummers can be like that sometimes...

He's making tiny adjustments to the tuning. It can change with the heat, and with use. And when you change it to a different note, the keys you use are not exact, so he wants it to be perfect.