Which Concert Tambourine is Right For Me?

With several models to choose from, picking the right tambourine can often be a challenge. Why is it a challenge you ask? Well, if you haven’t personally done a comparison of every tambourine on the market and narrowed down your choices (Check out our Complete Selection of Concert Tambourines) then you’re often just guessing which model is best for you to buy. To help with this age old problem, we’ve compiled some information on the concert tambourine to help you with your journey.

The Basics

If the tambourine you’re looking for is going to be played in an ensemble setting such as a Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, or Percussion Ensemble, odds are you need what is called a concert tambourine. Concert tambourines feature metal jingles, and have some sort of drum head mounted on them, either natural or synthetic. The key takeaway here is that a headless tambourine is not the norm in this situation, unless specifically called for.

Shell

Just like any great drum, tambourines feature a wooden or synthetic shell. Since the resonating qualities of the instrument are similar to a drum played with sticks, shell composition can play a large role in sound. Some manufacturers go as far as to steam bend a single ply of wood, and other manufacturers also blend plies of wood together to create their tambourine shells. It is important to keep this in mind as this is one of the factors which affects the weight of the instrument. Some repertoire can be challenging to play if the instrument is quite heavy, leading companies to also manufacture lighter weight options such as the Grover Bantamweight Tambourines, or the Ron Vaughn Percussion FireBird Tambourine.

Jingles

Ah, the jingles! Choosing the correct jingle type, quantity, or blend has the biggest impact on the sound of your tambourine. Some common jingle alloys are German Silver, Copper, Steel, Beryllium Copper, Chromium 25, Brass, and heat treated options. Alloys like German Silver, Copper, and Chromium 25 are bright and cutting as alternatives like Beryllium Copper, Brass, and heat treated alternatives can be more dry and articulate. A standard instrument generally has two rows or a “double row” of jingles, and a 10″ drum head. For those looking for a different sound, there are also single row tambourines available, as well as instruments of larger or smaller diameter.

Synthetic vs. Natural Drum Heads

When choosing a tambourine, there are pros and cons to choosing either a natural skin or synthetic drum head. Natural skin drum heads are known for their classic tone, feel and sound. They are also known for their poor adaptation to changing humidity and temperature given the fact that the mounted heads are at a fixed tuning. Oftentimes, professionals carry heating pads or other sources to tune their tambourines on the fly with a warmer temperature. Therein lies the advantage of a synthetic drum head option. Offering a slightly different sound, the synthetic head does not respond to these environmental changes, and will save you from bringing that heating pad to the gig. Synthetic drum head technology is so advanced nowadays, that this has become a great option to avoid this issue.

Brand

Just like any other purchase in your life, our team at Steve Weiss Music always encourages our customers to go with a reputable and reliable brand regardless of your budget or price point. Some of our most popular and trusted brands include, Grover Pro Percussion, Black Swamp Percussion, Ron Vaughn Percussion and Pearl/Adams Concert Percussion. If you don’t identify with a certain brand, consider asking your teacher or instructor what they use, or get in touch with one of our percussion specialists to see what they play.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it! A short guide to the purchase of your concert tambourine. Although there are quite a few options when purchasing your first, second, or third tambourine, we did our best to condense the information into a digestible portion. If we did not cover all of the questions you may have, you can reach out to a Percussion Specialist at Steve Weiss Music and narrow down which tambourine is best for your needs.

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