Thunder sheet

A thunder sheet is a thin sheet of metal used to produce sound effects for musical or dramatic events. The device may be shaken, causing it to vibrate, or struck with a mallet. It is also known as a thunder machine, though this can also refer to a large drum used for a similar sound effect.^[2]

Other namesThunder machine; machine à tonnerre (fr); Donnerblech, Donnermaschine (de)^[1]

Classification Percussion

Hornbostel–Sachs classification111.221+112.1
(Individual percussion plaques, or the player makes a shaking motion)

Quick facts Percussion instrument, Other names ...

Thunder sheet
Percussion instrument
A thunder sheet at the Teatro della Pergola
Other names	Thunder machine; machine à tonnerre (fr); Donnerblech, Donnermaschine (de)^[1]
Classification	Percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	111.221+112.1 (Individual percussion plaques, or the player makes a shaking motion)

Thunder sheets are available from some cymbal makers including Paiste and Sabian, or can easily be made out of any scrap metal sheet. The thinner and larger the sheet, the louder the sound. The thunder sheet needs to be "warmed up" before sounding. The player(s) will need to start slowly shaking the sheet a few seconds before quickly shaking the sheet.

Usage

Dramatist John Dennis devised the thunder sheet as a new method of producing theatrical thunder for his tragedy Appius and Virginia (1709) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.^[3] His invention was co-opted by another play at the same theater, and he complained how they dared to "steal my thunder", notwithstanding that the theater still had possession and legal ownership of the equipment that Dennis had constructed.^[4]

Notable orchestral works in which the instrument has been used include the following:

Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie and the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten
Giuseppe Verdi: Otello
Richard Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen^[5] and Parsifal.
Mozart: The Magic Flute^[6]^[7]
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Symphony in B minor "Polonia" (1903–08)
Alan Hovhaness: "Invocation to Vahakn No. 3"
Engelbert Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel

The American rock band The Grateful Dead, for example, were also notable for using thunder machines.^[8]^[9]

Theatre

Prior to the invention of the thunder sheet, alternative machines had been employed in the theatre, such as rolling a ball down a trough striking wooden cleats.^[10] Such a machine was called a "thunder run", and variations are often still used today, as well as the thunder sheet.^[11]

References

[1]
Blades, James & Holland, James (2001). "Thunder machine". In Sadie, Stanley & Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. ‎
[2]
"Thunder machine". OnMusic Dictionary. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
[3]
Rees, Nigel (1987). Why Do We Say ...?. ISBN 0-7137-1944-3.
[4]
Dent, Susie (2020-06-04). "The surprising history of 'stealing someone's thunder'". BBC. Retrieved 2026-04-26.
[5]
Wagner, Richard. Der Ring des Nibelungen. p. 404. The thunder machine is used only in Das Rheingold, but Wagner's score does not specifically include it by name. Instead, the score states that, when Donner strikes the hammer in Das Rheingold, "Ein starker Blitz entfährt der Wolke; ein ...
[6]
Smither, Howard E. (2000). A History of the Oratorio: The oratorio in the nineteenth. p. 537. The orchestra, with threatening, theatrical effects of brass and thunder (a thunder machine is required), powerfully and dramatically sounds out the Gregorian "Dies irae".
[7]
Waldoff, Jessica (2006). Assistant Professor of Music College of the Holy Cross - Recognition in Mozart's Operas. p. 45. ... in C minor (complete with thunder machine) is transformed into the music of Sarastro's stately proclamation in E-flat major.
[8]
Scully, Rock (2001). Living with the Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia. p. 33. The Thunder Machine is huge, like something you'd put in a children's playground. It's also a musical instrument.You can get inside it and bang on the different panels with wooden mallets and hammers. It's like a huge steel drum, so big that ...
[9]
Rocco, John M.; Rocco, Brian (1999). Dead reckonings: the life and times of the Grateful Dead. p. 55. That has Kesey a little nervous, because in just a few weeks the Thunder Machine is going on its first tour.
[10]
Leverton, Garrett Hasty (1936). The Production of Later Nineteenth Century American Drama. The most modern thunder machine is a long, narrow trough with a cannon ball rolling in it. Wooden cleats impede the ball along "Hopkins, op. cit., p. 301. 21 Logan, op. cit., p. 628. the way, and it may be rolled very fast for STAGE AND OFF ...
[11]
Supercool Ltd (2025-05-13). "The Thunder Run". Bristol Old Vic. Retrieved 2025-05-13.

Usage

Theatre

See also

References

External links

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