Pandeiro

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Instrument Name

The pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum popular in Brazil ,and which has been described as an unofficial instrument of that nation.

There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes. Also, the metal jingles (called platinelas in Portuguese) are cupped, creating a crisper, drier and less sustained tone on the pandeiro than on the tambourine. This provides clarity when swift, complex rhythms are played.

It is held in one hand, and struck on the head by the other hand to produce the sound. Typical pandeiro patterns are played by alternating the thumb, fingertips, heel, and palm of the hand.

A pandeiro can also be shaken to make sound, or one can run a finger along the head to create a "rasp" noise. The pandeiro is used in a number of Brazilian music forms, such as Samba, Choro, Coco, and Capoeira music (see Capoeira songs). The Brazilian pandeiro derives from the pandeireta or pandereta of Spain and Portugal.

Some of the best-known pandeiro players today are Paulinho Da Costa, Airto Moreira, Marcos Suzano, Cyro Baptista, and Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro.

Artists such as Stanton Moore use it non-traditionally by tuning it low to sound like a floor tom with jingles, mounting it on a stand and integrating it into the modern drum kit. Others, such as Sule Greg Wilson on the Carolina Chocolate Drops' Grammy-winning CD Genuine Negro Jig, use it in tandem with a tunable bodhran - also mounted - and play them as a pair with brushes to create drum kit effects, as well as their original intent as hand-held percussion.

Etymology and Alternative Spellings

See Also:
Tambourine