The Dominican ''tambora'' (from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word ''tambor'', meaning "drum") is a two headed drum played in

merengue music Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, which has become a very popular genre throughout Latin America, and also in several major cities in the United States with Latino communities. Merengue was inscribed ...

. In many countries, especially the Dominican Republic, tamboras were made from salvaged rum barrels. Tambora players are called ''tamboreros''.

Types

There are three types of tambora for the merengue style of music. The oldest kind is the rope-tuned tambora with black-colored heads. This is seen more in folkloric music of the Dominican republic. The second type, as made by modern companies, is bolt-tuned with conga heads. This kind usually has metal or wooden rims to hit as a filler for rhythms, sounding, if one strikes it correctly, something reminiscent of a wood block. This type can also be tuned to higher pitches and can sound like a

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

Role in Merengue

merengue tipico Merengue can refer to: *Merengue music *Merengue (dance) *Merengue típico, a musical genre of the Dominican Republic *Venezuelan merengue music *An adjective referring to the Real Madrid football club *An adjective referring to Club Universitari ...

, known also as perico ripiao (the oldest form of merengue), the tambora has a significantly large role, playing many different types of rhythms and variations on those rhythms. However, in orchestra merengue, the tambora usually only plays the ''merengue derecho'' rhythm as a background instrument, while

s are the main rhythm instrument, followed by the

güira The güira () is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet (commonly steel) and played with a stiff ...

. In orchestra merengue, a separate performer for

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

can be seen very frequently, while in perico ripiao, the timbales and tambora are played most of the time by the same musician (timbales are used most of the time for fills, and, occasionally, solos). Timbales were introduced into the genre by Dominican

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

ist Ray "Chino" Diaz.

Basic strokes

There are three basic strokes: slap, rim/woodblock, and open tone: these three are all used in standard merengue rhythms, such as merengue derecho (most common merengue form) and

pambiche Pambiche is a Dominican music genre and dance form derived from merengue típico, the traditional style of merengue. It has a slower tempo than standard merengue and its tambora rhythm is based on the cinquillo. This style of merengue was orig ...

References

External links

Tambora drum demonstration videos
Drums Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments Dominican Republic musical instruments Merengue music Hand drums {{Membranophone-instrument-stub