Collection: Tambourines

Every tambourine we carry, from EMUS, SUZUKI, Groove Masters Percussion, NINO and MEINL, in headed and headless forms and in hand, foot and mounted models.

The first choice is whether the tambourine has a head. A headed tambourine has a skin stretched over the frame, so it gives a drum tone as well as the jingles, and it can be played with a palm tap, a knuckle roll or a thumb roll around the rim. A headless tambourine is the frame and jingles alone. It is lighter, brighter and sharper, it cuts through a group more easily, and there is nothing on it for a student to poke a hole in.

Jingle rows are the second choice. A single row is lighter and cleaner. A double row is louder and denser, with more shimmer and a longer decay.

Sizes here run from four inch up to ten inch. Six and eight inch models suit small hands and a classroom set. Ten inch models carry over a full ensemble. Tunable models from SUZUKI, EMUS and GMP have a lug-tuned head that can be brought back to pitch.

Beyond the standard round frame: half-moon tambourines in ten inch and a four inch mini, which are held differently and easier for small hands, the NINO racket tambourine, MEINL foot and heel tambourines that strap to the shoe and leave the hands free, and GMP hi-hat tambourines with steel or brass and steel jingles that mount on a stand.