How to play the tambourine

The tambourine is a single-headed frame drum that has jingling metal disks set in its frame. It can be struck, shaken, or rubbed to produce a tone. Dolu-dolu in medieval Europe, the tambourine was traditionally a woman's instrument and continues to be so today in Islamic countries. Mozart first used the tambourine in his music in 1782.

I heard someone in the band had trouble feeling one with the tambourine recently (his expense for the rest of the bandmembers' glee!), so here's a few tips I pinched out from Neil W. Grover's tutorial posted in the TBA Journal (last updated on September 2002 - yep, ancient it may appear given Internet timelines but good techniques last, no?).

Tip No 1
Tone: A tambourine sounds most articulate when held in a horizontal orientation. When holding your tambourine, don't mindlessly hold it at the same angle of attack for every situation! Try this, hold a tambourine in a horizontal position (parallel to the floor) and tap the head. Now turn it to a vertical orientation (perpendicular to floor) and tap it again. Notice the great change in tonality!

Tip No 2
Cradling: Hold your hand open, palm face up and extend your fingers as though you were holding a basketball. Then place (cradle) the tambourine of top of your fingertips. Lightly tap the edge of the head (it is OK to play directly on top of the rim). Notice how articulate, dry and clear the resultant sound is.

Tip No 3
Thumb Roll With Heel Release: Any good roll should have an attack, sustain and release, yet most percussionists neglect the latter. Sometimes an articulated release is called for. This achieved by snapping the wrist down into the head as an articulated end to the roll. If it helps, think about learning to play open stroke rolls on snare drum. You want to produce a clear articulated end to the roll.

p/s: Grover is a world renowned cymbal, tambourine and triangle specialist. For over 20 years, he has performed with the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops. He has been seen in the hit movie Blown Away and in a music video on MTV, with the legendary rock group “Aerosmith”.

p/s2: Pix borrowed from www.ship-of-fools.com - muchas gracias!