What Are Tambourines Made of?
The tambourine is a percussion instrument, technically a small shallow drum, though some do not have a drum head. It has attached pairs of jingles and is played by shaking it, striking with a hand, or hitting it against an arm or leg.
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Identification
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Usually, the tambourine is made of wood with a calfskin, goatskin, or plastic drum head stretched across the top. Some tambourines are made of steel. Jingles typically are steel or brass, and often finger cymbals called zills are used for the jingles. Higher-priced models use jingles of copper, bronze, or silver. In rare cases, the tambourine has bells instead.
Features
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Most tambourines are round, but some more unusual shapes are crescent, five-pointed stars or fish-shaped. The tambourine can be tuned just like a stringed or woodwind instrument, and although it might look easy to play one, professional musicians are very particular about the type of tambourine they use in certain songs and how the tambourine is tuned.
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History
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The instrument has its origins in the ancient Middle East; however, people also played it in China and Rome. Early versions of the tambourine, the tabret and timbel, appear in the Bible as part of celebratory or worship events as far back as 1750 BC. Archaeologists have found Middle Eastern artifacts of women holding tambourines dating as far back as 2000 BC.
Time Frame
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In the 1700s, European composer Joseph Dale created works with up to 30 different tambourine strokes. Classical composers such as Mozart, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky wrote music that used tambourines.
Expert Insight
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Tambourines appear in modern folk and Celtic music, in hip-hop and were often included during the rock era of the 1960s and '70s. Tambourines now include a thumb hole allowing for different twirling and spinning movements. Many classic rock lead and back-up singers play tambourines, such as Roger Daltrey of The Who, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Patty Scialfa of the E Street Band. Stevie Nicks likes the Lotus tambourine designed by Remo signature artist Layne Redmond, with five sets of German silver jingles. She often appears with the crescent-shaped Rhythmntec style, but she's played down-to-earth plywood tambourines on stage as well.
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