Kanjira (Indian Tambourine)

This Indian Tambourine, called the Kanjira, has a unique sound because the snake-skin head can be made very loose by wetting it. Holding the Kanjira in the left hand the player strikes the skin with the right hand. The left hand fingers can exert pressure on the head to vary the pitch. The Kanjira has a wooden frame and two metal cymbals mounted on top of each other in the frame. Although this percussion instrument only measures seven inches in diameter and two and 1/8 inches in depth the open sound of this tambourine can be very low - approximating the sound of a bass drum at its lowest and a much higher pitch when pressed.

Hear the Kanjira on 'Water Drum' from 'Rain Trance'.