Tambourines are small hand drums that are made stretching a thin animal skin or parchment over a wooden ring. When the frame is shaken, several pairs of metal discs loosely set in it clash together like cymbals, making a pleasant jingling noise. The sound of the drum and the jingle of the disks can be achieved striking the drumhead with your knuckles. A whisking sound can be made rubbing your hand quickly across the drumhead.
The tambourine’s origins are unknown; it is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament as a celebratory instrument, such as when “Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.” (20:20) (Exodus 15:20)
It’s often referred to as a ‘woman’s instrument,’ because it’s light and can be played while dancing, allowing a dancer to provide her own accompaniment. As a result, the stereotypical image of a ‘gypsy dancing girl’ emerges, complete with swirling skirts, dangling earrings, and a tambourine held high above her head as she twirls in the gypsy encampment’s firelight.
To invoke altered states of awareness and communicate with spirits, ancient shamans used an instrument similar to a tambourine, but instead of metal disks, they used beads of various materials attached to the frame with strips of leather or twine. The beads could strike the drumhead if the frame was shaken.
Tambourines are most commonly associated with folk and ethnic music today; almost every culture has had an instrument that is very similar to the tambourine of today. It is less common in so-called ‘classical’ music, which refers to popular music from previous centuries.
Tambourines are wooden rings with inset ‘jingles’ that do not have a percussion skin. Their music is always upbeat; a dirge with tambourines is difficult to imagine.