pandeiro
instrumentspan-DAY-roh
A Brazilian frame drum with metal jingles, similar to a tambourine but with a unique tunable head and distinctive playing technique central to samba and choro music.
The pandeiro is the rhythmic backbone of Brazilian popular music, appearing in samba, choro, pagode, and bossa nova. Unlike a standard tambourine, the pandeiro has a tunable goatskin or synthetic head, recessed metal jingles (platinelas) that produce a drier, more controlled sound, and is played with a sophisticated thumb-and-finger technique rather than simple shaking. A skilled pandeirista can produce an astonishing variety of tones — bass, slap, open, muted, and jingle accents — from this single small instrument.
The pandeiro arrived in Brazil with Portuguese colonists and was adopted and transformed by Afro-Brazilian musicians. In the roda de choro (choro jam session), the pandeiro player provides the entire rhythmic foundation. Jackson do Pandeiro became a legendary virtuoso whose technique influenced all subsequent players. Marcos Suzano has pushed the instrument into electronic and experimental territory. The pandeiro's versatility — it can accompany a soft bossa nova whisper or drive a full samba batucada — makes it arguably the most important single instrument in Brazilian music.
A skilled pandeirista can produce so many distinct tones from one small frame drum that the pandeiro essentially functions as a complete drum kit — bass, snare, and hi-hat — in a single hand-held instrument.