TAMBOURIM, SCHMAMBOURIM...WHO CARES?

Today I would like to discuss and detail the difference between these three percussion instruments that I have recently added to my kit.  All three are variations of a hand-held "frame drum," but have been modified to be mountable so they can be adapted to a drum set.  These Brazilian instruments are commonly used in samba music, and are played with the hand or a short stick.

The first is the one with which most people are familiar: the TAMBOURINE (tam-bore-REEN).  This, as everyone knows, is simply a frame equipped with jingles, but tambourines come in more styles than you might think.  The frame may be made out of wood, metal or plastic, and may or may not have a drum head.  The jingles can be made out of nickel, steel or brass, and can be installed in double or single rows around the perimeter of the frame.  Tambourines are typically ten inches in diameter, but do come in smaller six and eight-inch sizes.  In this case, my tambourine has no drum head, has double rows of steel jingles and is made of durable plastic to endure strikes from a drumstick.  Also, the frame is fashioned into an oval instead of the usual circular shape in order to save a little space (always a plus in my book).

Next in line is a wooden frame drum called a TAMBOURIM (tam-bore-REEM).  This tiny 6" drum produces a very high-pitched sound with sharp timbre and minimal sustain.  This instrument does not have jingles, and is somewhat comparable to a 6" concert (or single-headed) tom-tom, only with less resonance and volume.

Finally I have displayed here a PANDEIRO (pahn-DEH-ro), which is a frame drum that looks very much like a wooden tambourine with a head or a large tambourim with jingles, but is actually quite different on both counts.  First of all, a pandeiro is larger in diameter, measuring twelve inches instead of ten.  This enables the pandeiro to produce a much lower-pitched sound with more resonance.  Whereas the tambourim has a very tight synthetic head, the pandeiro has a coated head that is more bouncy and loose.  This makes it feel more like a floor tom when played.  Indeed, the pitch of my pandeiro registers somewhere between my 13" tom and my 14" floor tom.  The jingles of the pandeiro are also different from the tambourine.  The tambourine has little 1-1/2" jingles shaped like miniature china cymbals that are faced together and vibrate against each other.  The jingles on a pandeiro are a slightly larger two inches, and are shaped like two smooth bowls cupped together like a flying saucer, so that the sound of their jingling is softer, deeper and more abrupt.

In conclusion, I have found that adapting these Brazilian instruments into my setup provides me with exciting new noises with which I can experiment and incorporate into my playing.  I always enjoy discovering interesting new sounds in music that the average person has never even noticed, and then figuring out what instruments produce these sounds so I can buy one and add it to my kit!

Here is a video demonstrating the different dazzling sounds that emanate from my trio of Brazilian instruments.  Did you know that I have, like, a Brazilian instruments?  Yeah.  I do.  All piled into a 5x7' space.

Now let's see how I can incorporate these new sounds into a couple of patterns on the kit.  The tambourine I have mounted strategically in the tight space over the snare drum, beneath and between the hi-hat and my 13" bass-drum-mounted tom.  The pandeiro is positioned low and to my left like an additional floor tom, and the tambourim is located up on my left-hand side preceding my 8" tom.  See if you can distinguish the interesting new tweaks that build and broaden the scope and range of these simple patterns.

Wow!  Was that not awesome and fun?!  The addition of uncommon and atypical percussion instruments can make any kit a whole new drumming experience!