String tambourine

Enormous sonority and
easy play

The string tambourine originally comes from France, where it was used in the Middle Ages as an accompaniment instrument, similar to a hammered dulcimer or a chorded zither. Each chord is made up of three strings which are hit with a mallet, a plectrum or the fingertips.

The string tambourine is ideal for people who like singing but up to now have not had a simple accompaniment instrument for that.

String tambourine - Manufactory Meerklang

Sound

The string tambura has an enormous fullness of sound and is extremely simple to play. It is both a plucked string instrument and a percussion instrument at the same time. No matter how it is played, it always produces a  deep, wide, very warm and all-encompassing sound.

As with all Meerklang instruments, it sounds very good in combination with other classical instruments.

Applications

The string tambourine is suited to accompanying songs with chords, similar to a guitar. And yet it is much simpler to play because you only have to hit the chords and don’t have to change the fingering as with guitar chords.

  • Accompaniment of songs

  • School music lessons

  • early musical education

  • Music therapy

  • Geriatrics

  • Sound meditation

  • Sound therapy

  • Improvisation

  • Sound healing

It has proved very useful as an accompaniment instrument in school music-making, because both children and teachers can learn to accompany songs with it in a short time.

During the Jekits project the string tambourine was used very successfully in many schools throughout Germany.

Photos

String tambourine, 5 chords - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, 5 chords
String tambourine, 16 chords - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, 16 chords
String tambourine, 16 chords, detail view - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, 16 chords, detail view
String tambourine, 16 chords, detail view - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, 16 chords, detail view
String tambourine, 12 chords, detail view - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, 12 chords, detail view
String tambourine, four variants - Manufactory Meerklang
String tambourine, four variants

Versions

The instrument in available with 5, 8, 12 or 16 chords or in four different sizes:

Length Width Height Chords Number of strings
66 cm 16 cm 7 cm 5 (C/F/G/Am/Dm) 15
66 cm 24 cm 7 cm 8 (C/F/G/B/Am/Em/Dm/Gm) 24
66 cm 30 cm 7 cm 12 (C/F/G/B/D/A/Am/Dm/Em/Gm/Cism/Fism) 36
66 cm 38 cm 7 cm 16 (C/F/G/B/D/A/E/H/Am/Dm/Em/Gm/Cism/Fism/Gism/Hm) 48

Delivery

  • Tuning wrench

  • a pair of mallets

  • Plectrum