Timbau

For Cuban and Latin drum, see timbales

The timbau or Brazilian timbal is a membranophone instrument derived from the Caxambu drum. Slightly conical and of varying sizes, it is usually light in weight and made of lacquered wood or metal with a tunable nylon head. The drum is most often found in Bahia, originating in Salvador, Bahia, and is used mainly to play Axé and Samba-reggae. They are played in a similar manner to the Atabaque, another hand drum a version of which had been brought to Brazil in slavery and is used in Candomblé rituals. In the 1980s, a music/social movement was organized to bring the Timbal to popular music.

Tymbal

Tymbal (or timbal) is a term for a corrugated exoskeletal structure used to produce sounds in insects. In male cicadas, the tymbals are membranes in the abdomen, responsible for the characteristic sound produced by the insect. In tiger moths, the tymbals are modified regions of the thorax, and produce high-frequency clicks.

The paired tymbals of a cicada are located on the sides of the abdominal base. The "singing" of a cicada is not stridulation as in many other familiar sound-producing insects like crickets (where one structure is rubbed against another): the tymbals are regions of the exoskeleton that are modified to form a complex membrane with thin, membranous portions and thickened "ribs". These membranes vibrate rapidly, and enlarged chambers derived from the tracheae make the cicada's body serve as a resonance chamber, greatly amplifying the sound. Some cicadas produce sounds louder than 106 dB (SPL), among the loudest of all insect-produced sounds. They modulate their noise by positioning their abdomens toward or away from the substrate.

Timbal (drum)

The Timbal is a conical hand drum played with both hands.

Description

The timbal is light in weight and made of lacquered wood or aluminium with an tunable synthetic skin at one end.

The Timbal is designed to play loud, rapid phrases and solos with powerful slaps. The sound of a Timbal varies from a clear well-defined high tone till a strong deep bass. The Timbal is available in different lengths; a greater length brings a deeper bass.

Uses

It is used most often for Afro-Brazilian rhythms, such as axé and samba-reggae.