Tambor by Kyle Skinner © 2024 Tapspace Publications, LLC (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
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TSPCS24-011
The titleTambor is a combination of the words tambourine and tabor, a medieval drum considered to be an ancestor of the modern snare drum. I wrote this piece in the spring of 2023 during the last semester of my undergraduate degree at the University of North Texas. I had previously written short etudes and had experimented with rudimental licks, but this was my first attempt at composing a full length solo. Throughout my time at UNT, the teaching and writing of Paul Rennick has had a huge effect on me. Tambor is a product of my studies of his writing style and derives from an idea he often expressed: “sounds cool and feels good to play.” His mentorship and support really helped this project come to life.
The idea of incorporating a tambourine into the solo came to me while driving one day. I heard the dotted 8th motif in my head accompanied by a persistent trill behind it. After some thought, I had the idea that a solo for tambourine and snare drum would be a great challenge. I first started by making a list of all of the sounds I could think of that a normal orchestral tambourine could make; this is where the sounds and techniques seen in the piece really began to blossom. During my search for inspiration, I came upon some videos of frame drum solos, and the different timbres of the drum and the odd meter grooves really interested me. Letter F in the solo is a section inspired by the form, common rhythmic figures, and techniques of traditional frame drumming translated to the head of a snare drum.
Tambor would not have been possible without the support of my teachers. Thank you to the University of North Texas professors Mark Ford, Paul Rennick, Sandi Rennick, and Dave Hall for supporting the beginning of this project and to Gene Koshinski and Tim Broscious at the University of Delaware for helping me complete it.
Kyle Skinner
Tambor makes use of the tambourine in a number of different ways. The main two methods are: (1) held in the LH while the RH is holding one snare stick and (2) setting the tambourine on a stand in front of the performer’s snare drum and playing with two snare sticks.
At letter F, the hand drumming sequences are to be played with the fingers like “finger drumming.” This can be done however is most comfortable for the player. I have provided some stickings which serve as a starting point for the player to interpret.
