Timba (instrument)
The timba (more rarely: timbal or timbau ) is a hand drum used in Brazilian music .
The conical body of the Timba is made of varnished pressed wood or aluminum and is approx. 70 to 90 cm high. The plastic batter head is 12 to 14 inches in diameter . The drum is usually carried with a shoulder strap and played hanging in front of the stomach, more rarely it is in a stand.
The usual hits are the open tone and the high and particularly loud slap . The bass in the middle of the head plays less of a role than with comparable hand drums such as the Djembé or the Conga .
Until the late 1980s, the timba was mainly found in the Samba pagoda . In this form of music, it is played as surdo de mão ("hand surdo ") while lying across the knees with one hand. Other handicrafts are Rebolo , Repique de mão and Tantan . Carlinhos Brown was the first to use the timba as a hand drum in his group Timbalada in the 1980s, triggering a musical revolution in Salvador da Bahia . The timba became a defining instrument of samba reggae and blocos afros . Until then, the atabaque was the dominant Brazilian hand drum, but it is too heavy to carry and was therefore not played in the carnival groups. To date, the timba has not found its way into the samba enredo of the great samba schools in Rio de Janeiro , but it plays a major role in groups that combine traditional with modern music.