A ''tamborim'' ( or ) is a small, round

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

of Portuguese and African origin. The frame is 6" in width and may be made of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

, or

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

. The head is typically made of

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and is normally very tightly tuned in order tore and a minimum of sustain. The drum is devoid of snares or jingles. They are frequently confused with the more common

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. The size and weight of the tamborim compare with those of the small frame drums of the

Orff Schulwerk The Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is a developmental approach used in music education. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to a child's world of play. It was developed by the German comp ...

. The tamborim is used in many genres of

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

. It is most commonly associated with

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

nose flute The nose flute is a musical instrument often played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries. Other versions are found in Africa. Hawaii In the North Pacific, in the Hawaiian islands the nose flute was a common courting instrument. In Haw ...

and

pagode Pagode () is a Brazilian style of music that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a subgenre of Samba. Pagode originally meant a celebration with food, music, dance, and party. In 1978, singer Beth Carvalho was introduced to this music, like ...

, but is also used in chorinho,

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, and some northeastern folklore rhythms such as cucumbi. It is also played in samba music and in carnivals or festivals.

Technique

In most musical styles, the tamborim is played with a small wooden drumstick. In samba-batucada, it is played with a beater made of several

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threads bound together. On rare occasions, it may be played with the fingers. The tamborim is held with the weaker hand with the thumb either crossing the rim and resting on the

drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

, or gripping the frame. The other fingers are curled under the rim, with the index typically applying and releasing pressure on the underside of the head to achieve higher or lower notes. The beater is held with the strong hand and the head is struck a little off-center. A playing technique called ''virado'' is often used, in which the drum is flipped upside-down in the middle of the pattern, which produces one note that is slightly delayed, giving the samba its characteristic lilt. The instrument may also occasionally be struck on the rim. Tamborim players alternate between the ''carreteiro'', the main groove pattern, and other signature phrases which are easily distinguished above the other percussion instruments.

References

{{Authority control Drums Brazilian percussion Samba Membranophones

Technique

See also

References