Tambor
for solo snare drum and tambourine
Price range: $18.00 through $23.00
Tambor “… is a combination of the words tambourine and tabor, a medieval drum considered to be an ancestor of the modern snare drum.
Written for snare drum and orchestral tambourine by Kyle Skinner, this unique solo covers a wide range of standard and nonstandard techniques for each instrument. Experienced percussionists will find an array of fun challenges with hand-to-hand coordination through a variety of motifs and shifting meters.
Tambor ships as a professionally bound folio with a color cover.
- Concert snare drum
- Concert tambourine
Reviews
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Stephen Busath –
A clever addition to the multiple percussion repertoire and uniquely categorized as a snare drum and tambourine solo on the publisher’s website, this piece reminds me of other snare drum solos with an additional instrument, such as “Impressions” by Nikolas Martynciow. Like “Impressions,” though, the combining of instruments is not what makes this a great piece; the writing does.
Kyle Skinner does a great job of mixing textures: simultaneous tambourine and snare drum, solo snare drum, solo tambourine, and a section reminiscent of frame drumming with fingers. My fear was that this solo would be a long gimmick, but the composer does a great job of avoiding the trap of doing too much with a good idea. The balance between each section is appropriate, and none of the techniques are overdone.
Rhythmically, this solo presents some creativity, particularly in how the composer plays with meter. One example: in 3/4, when the tambourine enters with a shake roll, the snare drum part uses rhythms that allude to 6/8; while it is a simple connection, it creates a clear change in feel. To close the solo, he cleverly uses these same rhythms to transition back into 3/4 from seven. There are also many tempo changes. Some are sudden, while with others, metric modulation is utilized.
Notable techniques include striking the body with the tambourine, doing a shake roll while playing snare with other hand, drumstick on tambourine head, up and down strokes with tambourine, finger rimshots, finger flicks, and double-stroke roll with fingers. A very creative moment that may take some practice involves smoothly moving from a tambourine friction roll into a snare drum rimshot. The bulk of the technical challenge in this piece is the coordination of playing tambourine and snare drum simultaneously.
Separately, the snare drum and tambourine parts make worthwhile etudes for either instrument. This solo has so much to offer and is a great study piece for advanced high school students and beyond. It also looks like a lot of fun.
—Stephen Busath
Percussive Notes
Vol. 62, No. 6, December 2024