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| tamborim | |
|---|---|
| Name | tamborim |
| Classification | Percussion instrument |
| Hornbostel-Sachs | 211.311 (Frame drum) |
| Range | N/A |
| Developed | Brazil |
| Related | Pandeiro, Caixa, Surdo, Repinique |
tamborim The tamborim is a small, round frame drum widely used in Brazilian music, especially in samba, samba-enredo, bossa nova, choro and pagode. Originating in Brazil, the tamborim has become emblematic of ensembles associated with Carnaval and street music, including Mangueira, Portela, Salgueiro, Beija-Flor de Nilópolis and Imperatriz Leopoldinense. It is performed by soloists and sections in bateria groups alongside instruments such as the surdo, cuíca, caixa, and repinique.
The tamborim's antecedents can be traced to frame drums found across Iberian and African diasporic traditions linked to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and the broader colonial Atlantic world involving Portugal, Spain, West Africa, and the transatlantic slave trade. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the tamborim became integrated into urban popular music scenes in Rio de Janeiro alongside the rise of samba schools and the modernization of Carnaval. During the 1930s and 1940s, the instrument was recorded by artists associated with Vila Isabel, Estácio de Sá, and radio networks such as Radio Nacional, appearing on records produced by labels like Odeon (Brazil), Columbia Records, and Victor Talking Machine Company. Postwar cultural movements connected the tamborim to studio settings used by musicians from Bossa Nova circles including artists linked to Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Elis Regina, and arrangers working with Carmo. From the late 20th century into the 21st, the tamborim featured in international festivals and collaborations involving ensembles from Japan, United States, France, and Portugal.
A typical tamborim consists of a circular wooden or synthetic frame with a single head made from animal hide historically or modern synthetic materials used by manufacturers like Contemporânea, Timbra, and artisanal luthiers in Petrópolis and Recife. Sizes are compact, frequently around 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, and rims are often tuned using screws, lugs, or adhesive tapes similar to hardware found on repinique and pandeiro modifications. Heads vary between calfskin, goatskin, and Mylar-type films produced by companies such as Remo and Evans. Some modern tamborims incorporate rims or muffling systems influenced by designs used in drum kit manufacturing from firms like Pearl, Yamaha, and Ludwig. The choice of wood—mahogany, birch, or composite materials—affects weight and timbre, while finishing and varnish practices reflect regional woodworking traditions from Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul.
Tamborim technique emphasizes precision, speed, and syncopation in patterns central to samba, marchinha, afoxé, and samba-reggae. Players typically use a handheld short wooden stick called a baqueta, nylon beater, or multipronged nylon stick known as a "carreteiro", executing strokes such as batida, abafado, and floreio. Common grips and motions draw comparison to stick techniques employed by drum kit drummers and marching percussionists affiliated with colégio bands and military bands in civic parades. Rudiments adapted to the tamborim include paradiddles and single strokes configured into ostinatos heard in performances by Mangueira and Portela. Advanced players employ muting with the non-dominant hand, wrist articulation, and rapid flicking to produce the bright, cutting tone that negotiates dense textures created by surdo and cuíca.
In a bateria, the tamborim provides high-pitched rhythmic punctuation and drives samba grooves in concert with surdo lines and caixa backbeat patterns. Its repertoire spans carnavalesque sambas, escola-enredo arrangements for Sambódromo parades, studio recordings in Bossa Nova sessions, and folk-derived genres such as frevo and maracatu when adapted by fusion projects. Compositions and arrangements by figures associated with Clube da Esquina, Os Novos Baianos, Cartola, and contemporary composers have incorporated tamborim for coloristic and contrapuntal effects. The instrument frequently executes catalytic choro break patterns in chamber groupings and provides syncopated responses in call-and-response structures used by samba-reggae collectives from Bahia and Ilê Aiyê.
The tamborim is more than a sound source; it is a cultural emblem present in Carnaval pageantry, street rodas, community blocks (blocos), and religious celebrations connected to Candomblé and Afro-Brazilian cultural movements. Schools like Mangueira and Beija-Flor de Nilópolis showcase tamborim sections as part of visual and sonic identity in competitions judged by panels and televised by networks such as Rede Globo. The instrument participates in pedagogical programs run by cultural centers in Cidade de Deus and social initiatives inspired by musicians involved with Projeto Guri and educational outreach similar to programs associated with El Sistema models. International cultural exchanges have brought tamborim techniques into global percussion studies at institutions like Berklee College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, and conservatoires in Tokyo and Lisbon.
Prominent tamborim specialists include soloists and section leaders who have shaped technique and repertoire in prominent samba schools and recording contexts: players affiliated with Mangueira, Portela, Salgueiro, Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, and Imperatriz Leopoldinense are widely recognized. Influential studio percussionists who integrated tamborim into popular Brazilian recordings operated alongside artists such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Elis Regina, Tom Jobim, and producers linked to RGE (label), Philips Records, and Warner Music Brasil. Ensembles and collectives that foreground tamborim include street blocos like Cordão do Bola Preta and ritual music groups associated with Ilê Aiyê and Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi, as well as international percussion ensembles that have featured Brazilian repertoire at festivals like Montreux Jazz Festival, São Paulo Jazz Festival, and Nhk Hall concerts.
Category:Brazilian percussion instruments