Exploring the
ORCHESTRA
Tambourine
Musical Section:
Percussion (Instruments that produce sound by hitting, shaking or scraping. Other instruments in this family include: celesta, chimes, crotales, cymbals, glockenspiel, maracas, marimba, piano, snare drum, Tam Tam, triangle, tambourine, vibraphone, xylophone and lots of others!) . Other instruments in this family: Bass Drum, Celesta, Chimes, Cymbals, Piano, Timpani, Triangle, Xylophone
About the Tambourine
What it looks like
The tambourine is a small, round percussion instrument with jingles around the edge. You play it by shaking it or hitting it with your hand. It sounds like the twinkling noise someone makes when they wear a bunch of bracelets around their wrist. It’s a fun, lively instrument that’s often used to add a bright, cheerful sound to music. Like the maracas, you don’t need to tune a tambourine or worry about note reading. Just grab and start jingling!
Did you know?
The tambourine has many cousins around the world:
The riq in Arabic music
The pandeiro in Brazilian music
The daf in Persian and Kurdish traditions
How to Play
Both Maestros
Hold the tambourine in your hand with firm grip but loose enough so the jingles can move and vibrate. Use your other hand to tap the head or frame with your fingers or palm while keeping a steady beat. You can also strike it lightly against your hand or leg. Any way you do it, the tambourine is as fun to play as it sounds!
Lightning Fast Fingers!
Okay, it’s true, in some ways, the tambourine is easy to play because it’s just a jingly circle you tap with your fingers. But if you think that’s all the tambourine can do, think again! Listen to Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov! The player plays close to a hundred notes in less than twenty seconds! Fingers move as fast typing on a keyboard! Not so easy after all!
