Darbuka Djembe

Tambourine Shake

The Tambourine is a hand percussion instrument. Its sound is that is that of high toned jingles while a few have skin that effectively lowers its tone. It is related to other instruments such as the Riq, Buben, Dayereh, Dag, Kanjira, and Frame Drum. This percussion has managed to find its way into popular culture and contemporary music and till now it is used as an accompaniment to modern music.

The Tambourine consist of a frame (made of either, wood or metal), it has pair of metal jingles called "zils" that are placed in close intervals over the whole length of the frame. A classic form of the tambourine consists of a drum head that is either made of animal hide or synthetic material. However, other variants of the tambourine (especially modern ones) may not have any head at all.

There are a lot of different ways to play the tambourine. It can be held in one hand and slapped on the other hand or on any surface. It can also be jiggled to produce a different tone. It can also be mounted and played in that position. There are a lot of different shapes to the tambourine. Most of them come in circular and round shapes while others come in semi-circles and it can even hexagonal at times. The use of the tambourine stretches over genres from Classical, Roman, Persian and Gospel Music to Pop Music and Rock and Roll.

Below is a list of a few forms of the Tambourine:

Pandiero - Brazilain in origin, this type of Tambourine consists of a single percussion head with jingles located on the frame. It is typically used in traditional Brazilian music like the Samba, Choro and Capoeira.

Riq - This type of tambourine is traditional in Arabic music. It is composed of a percussion head than can be double ended or single ended with jingles in two layers along the frame. It is generally known as "Shakers" in the Arabic language.

Buben - The Buben is a percussion instrument that have a membrane stretched over one side. Some Buben's don't have membranes at all. It is usually composed of a wooden or metal hoop with jingles located all around the frame. The Buben held in the hand and can be played a lot of different ways.

Dayereh - The Dayereh is used as an accompaniment to classical Iranian music. It is medium sized frame drum that have jingles running over the sides of it. It is often seen as an intermediate between the drum and the Tambourine.

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Ethnic Drums

Darbuka Djembe

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