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.