How to Make Tambourines

Series Summary

There is something magical about the sound of a tambourine, bringing rhythm, emphasizing beats and adding a sound that is so anciently sensual it is unmistakable. One of the oldest instruments, tambourines belong to the percussion family and can be made of wood or plastic with small metal jingles and a drumhead. Originally, tambourines were often used in ancient Middle Eastern bands and played primarily by females as an accompaniment to seductive belly dancing. Today, they are part of most rock, folk and blues bands and are often mounted on drum sets to be played by the drummer.

In this free video series, our expert will teach you how to play the tambourine. In this free music lesson you will learn how to properly strike a tambourine and how to play a variety of rhythms. You will get step-by-step instructions for playing a flam, a thumb roll and keeping time on the back accent. Whether you want to add more percussion to your band or just advance your tambourine playing skills, this video will give you all the information you need to play the tambourine.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Aaron Bland on behalf of Expert Village and I want to introduce to you the tambourine. And this tambourine has a shallow frame and it's got two rows of zills, or jingles or jangles or little tiny cymbals, whatever you want to call them. They give you that jangly sound when it's played. This one's got a calfskin head stretched over the surface. You can also find these with plastic heads as well. And I've got a tambourine here without a head on it at all. It's just the jangles in two rows and it's got a handle right in the middle and these are becoming more and more popular. Just this design having the handle that comes up in the center for leverage. Your tambourine jingle is just a wrist twist away. And, because I like to show off my toys, I've also got a tambourine like this. Again, two rows of jingles. You can find tambourines with just one or three. I've seen a tambourine with five rows, kind of ridiculous, it's more of a drum at that point, because it defeats the purpose of having that shallow, real light frame. And this one actually is designed to be mounted on to a piece of hardware so it can be played without actually holding it. This will hold it into place. There's your basic tambourine construction and a couple of different designs."