Tamborim

The Brazilian samba tamborim has evolved from a quadrangular drum with a skin head, and no jingles. This little 6" samba frame drum can be made of metal, wood or plastic and is played with a special flexible stick called a vareta or baqueta.

In samba school baterias the tamborim is used to highlight the strongest parts of a tune, providing punctuation for the melody. It is used widely in other types of Brazilian percussion and is very popular in childrens samba bands and groups.

Today in modern samba bands tamborins have a synthetic head and metal or synthetic body, creating a high piercing sound which can be heard over the other drums of a samba band. Wooden tamborins are still used in small group settings but they are heavier and have a less cutting sound, and we do not recommend them for use in lar ge drum ensembles. Wooden tamborims are best with hide skins, sounding very mellow (though quiet!) and ar great for stage work in small samba groups.

The best tamborim (although not the most expensive) is the solid aluminium tamborim made by Artcelsior. It comes with either 6 or 8 lugs. You should choose whichever number is more comfortable in your hand; there is no difference in the sound quality of the tamborim or in the life of the skin.