How to shake that tambourine!

Stickman

Silver Member
Does anyone have any good techniques for playing the kit while playing 1/8 note patterns on a tambourine?
I fake this all the time.. Playing percussion with my left hand (cowbell, claves, tambourine, shakers).. And with my right hand I play the kit; usually hats and snare patterns with tomms and cymbals thrown in for good measure.So.. I have lots of ways of covering tamb parts.. Either a small tamb mounted on the hat and either tapping it with my left hand or shaking it using my left foot .. Usually 1/4 note patterns with the foot... But here is the issue..to pull off Ramblin man by the Allman Bros... It needs a constant 1/8 groove on the tamb... Coupled with a great groove on the kit. I can almost get there by playing the full groove using my hands on hat and snare.. Andwisk shaking the tamb on my hats by playing 1/4 notes with my left foot.. Its pretty close to the original sound and feel.. But I Wish i could get a little more tamb shake out of my foot... Orr some other technique like tie a strings of beads onto my leg or grow another limb! But are there any other magic solutions out there?
 
Not sure what you're trying to achieve.

I generally mount it above my hats to play with sticks or lay it on top of my hats.

For softer playing I also have the small LP tambourines I can put on my eet.

If you want to play tambourine with your foot there's stuff like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpNxnTHMCHs
 
My tambourine is mounted to my hihat stand. I can ride it just as I do my hats.
 
Are you playing to a score and there is a conductor or music director that will fire you if you do not follow every note exactly?

OMG! When did Rock become this nitpicky OCD fest?

The Allman Brothers! The freaking Allman Brothers! Who are known for there extensive improvisational forays? If I went to an Allman Brothers show and they played note for note I'd ask for my money back.
 
I learned how to play tambourine from Veronica, the dark haired girl from The Archies cartoon show in the late 60's.

She would alternatively hit her hip and then her opposite wrist with the tambourine.

That's how I play it too :)
 
Ya she did put a lot into it, but was fickle, and high maintenance. I think I preferred Betty.

Veronica was hotter, Betty was cooler, but I really dug the chick from Scooby Doo. Not the nerdy chick Velma Dinkley, the redhead chick Daphne Blake.
 
OMG! If I went to an Allman Brothers show and they played note for note I'd ask for my money back.

You missed the point.. that was just an example. I was looking for a better sound that mimics real tambourine playing while playing a kit. Which I got thanks to a couple of helpful contributors.

The good thing about this forum is there are pros on here that always offer constructive advice.. but unfortunately you have to filter out the occassional gutter sniping from people with too much time on their hands.. like they say 'don't feed the trolls'.
 
I use the LP cyclops tambourine on my hi hat rod. With my technique, if I play heel up it only sounds as the hi hat closes, and playing heel down it will sound as the hi hat hits the top point, and then when it closes. This way I can play 8th-notes using a quarter note foot pattern. Works great for me. You could perhaps even set up a separate hi hat stand right next to your regular stand, with only the tambourine, not using any cymbals on it (or maybe some cheap broken 6-8" splashes to add some 'chick' sound).
 
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U remember last names too....never cease to amaze Uncle L!

Nah. I forgot her first name. So I googled it. Daphne. It was only then that I heard her last name for the first time lol.
 
moxman said:
Cool I hadn't seen that! Greg B's one cool dude.. friend of Ringo and great drummer. Not sure if I want to lug a pedal around, but I might try the LP mini foot tambourine if it's easy to get on and off.

Gregg is exceptional playing the foot tambourine.
 
Softer than you're inclined to and preferably in time.
 
This might be what you're looking for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ZwqUJ6TOU

That's kind of a cool idea . but in the video it's so quiet I can barely hear it.

I often use an LP 'One Shot' shaker held against my right stick which gives a nice clear shaker sound.. and it's compact and doesn't get in the way.

Here is a good demo of some various tambourines and accessories for hihats.
Hi-hat accessories on Kwesi's Corner

My standard LP mini HH tamb finally blew out it's jingles on my last gig.. so time to replace!
 
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