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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 some variants may not have a head at all. Tambourines are often used with regular percussion sets. They can be mounted, for example on a stand as part of a drum kit (and played with drum sticks), or they can be held in the hand and played by tapping or hitting the instrument.

Godward, La tambourine, 1906 (5613764847).jpg
La tambourine, by John William Godward, 1906
Percussion instrument
Other namesRiq, Buben
Classification hand percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification112.122(+211.311, with drumhead)
(Indirectly struck idiophone, sometimes including struck membranophone)
Timbrebright, complex
Playing range


Related instruments
Riq, Buben, Dayereh, Daf, Kanjira, Frame drum

Tambourines come in many shapes with the most common being circular. It is found in many forms of music: Turkish folk music, Greek folk music, Italian folk music, classical music, Persian music, samba, gospel music, pop music, country music, and rock music.


Tambourines originated in Egypt, where they were known as the tof to the Hebrews, in which the instrument was mainly used in religious contexts.[1] The word tambourine finds its origins in French tambourin, which referred to a long narrow drum used in Provence, the word being a diminutive of tambour "drum," altered by influence of Arabic tunbur "drum".[2] from the Middle Persian word tambūr "lute, drum".[3]



Tambourine rollsEdit


Thumb rollEdit

An advanced playing technique is known as the thumb roll. The finger or thumb is moved over the skin or rim of the tambourine, producing a fast roll from the jingles on the instrument. This takes more skill and experience to master. The thumb or middle finger of the hand not holding the tambourine is run around the head of the instrument approximately one centimeter from the rim with some pressure applied. If performed correctly, the thumb should bounce along the head rapidly, producing the roll. Usually, the end of the roll is articulated using the heel of the hand or another finger. In the 2000s, the thumb roll may be performed with the use of wax or resin applied to the outside of the drum head. This resin allows the thumb or finger to bounce more rapidly and forcefully across the head producing an even sound. A continuous roll can be achieved by moving the thumb in a "figure of 8" pattern around the head.

In popular musicEdit

In rock music, a tambourine is most often played:

Tambourines in rock music are most often headless, a ring with jangles but no drum skin. The Rhythm Tech crescent-shaped tambourine and its derivatives are popular. The original Rhythm Tech tambourine is displayed in the Museum of Modern Art. Jack Ashford's distinctive tambourine playing was a dominant part of the rhythm section on Motown records.[4] The tambourine was featured in "Green Tambourine", a busking-oriented song with which The Lemon Pipers, a 1960s musical group, notched a chart selection.

In classical musicEdit

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was among the earliest western composers to include the tambourine in his compositions. Since the late eighteenth century it has become a more permanent element of the western orchestral percussion section, as exemplified in some of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's dance pieces from The Nutcracker Suite. Gustav Holst's seven-movement orchestral suite The Planets also features the tambourine in several places throughout the suite, especially in the "Jupiter" movement.

Similar instrumentsEdit


Ukrainian boben




An Iranian woman playing a frame drum, from a painting on the walls of Chehel Sotoun palace, Isfahan, 17th century, Iran.

A daf (دف) is a large-sized tambourine or Perso-Arabic frame drum used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran, Azerbaijan, the Arab world, Turkey (where it is called tef), Uzbekistan (where it's called childirma), the Indian subcontinent (where it is known as the Dafli) and Turkmenistan. Daf typically indicates the beat and tempo of the music being played, thus acts like the conductor in the monophonic oriental music. The Persian poet Rudaki, who widely used names of the musical instruments in his poems, mentions the daf and the tambourine (taboorak) in a Ruba'i: A common use of tambourine (Daf) is by Albanians. They are often played by women and bridesmaids in wedding cases to lead the ceremony when bride walks down the aisle.[citation needed]


Originated in Galicia or Portugal, the pandeiro was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese settlers. It is a hand percussion instrument consisting of a single tension-headed drum with jingles in the frame. It is very typical of more traditional Brazilian music.


The Basque pandero is a folk instrument currently played along with the trikitixa (basque diatonic accordion) in a duo most of the times. Sometimes the players, who play in festivities to enliven the atmosphere or less frequently at onstage performances, sing along. At times the pandero accompanies the alboka or txistu too. Yet these kinds of duos have not always been the case. As attested in 1923, the youth gathered to dance to the rhythm of the bare pandero, with no other music instrument implicated but the player's (a woman's) voice.


Arabic riq






Kanjira drums



Ta'r, Egypt, picture p.366 in Edward William Lane (1860) [1836]. An Account of the Manners and Customs of Modern Egyptians (5th ed.).

Tar (Arabic: طار‎) is a single-headed frame drum of Turkish origin, but is commonly played in North Africa and the Middle East.






Redep, a rebana from Palembang, South Sumatra, with its typical red, black, and gold color.


See alsoEdit


  1. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainSchlesinger, Kathleen (1911). "Timbrel". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ "tambourine | Origin and meaning of tambourine by Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  3. ^ "tabor | Origin and meaning of tabor by Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 2018-02-26.

External linksEdit