Tabor

| Percussion Instruments | Tabor |

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The Tabor is our type of drum. Usually if just one person is using it by himself (not in a group), they will add a pipe to their playing and then they become a Pipe and Tabor player. The Tabor is used in the military a lot to keep the soldiers marching in step.

The pipe and tabor are a one-handed flute and shallow drum played at the same time. It first appeared in S. France and N. Spain in the 12th C. and is still played there in your time I believe. During the late Middle Ages and now during the Renaissance it is known throughout Western Europe. It is used mainly to accompany dances. In England it is called the "whittle and dub" and is still used to accompany Morris dances. In France the tabor is now usually replaced by a tambourin à cordes (string drum), while the Basque people still use a snare drum.

The pipe and tabor are a one-handed flute and shallow drum played at the same time. It first
appeared in S. France and N. Spain in the 12th C. and is still played there today. During the late
Middle Ages and the Renaissance it was known in most of Western Europe. It is used mainly to
accompany dances. In England it was called the "whittle and dub" and is still used to accompany
Morris dances. In France the tabor is now usually replaced by a tambourin à cordes (string drum), while the Basque people still use a snare drum.

I can play you a little on the Tabor so you can hear what they sound like:

Craige on the Tabor:
For the Mac (AIFF) 108K or (SND) 108K
For the PC (WAV) 108K
For the Unix (AU) 108K
RealAudio (RA) 28K




Some pipes and tabors.

(Original sound file courtesy ofYasuhiko Higaki's website Renaissance Consort
http://www.hike.te.chiba-u.ac.jp/cons1/)

(Photo a German drummer playing a tabor in 1535 courtesy of C. Otis Sweezey 's website The History of Costume by Braun & Schneider - see credits)

(Photos of pipes and tabors courtesy of Jim Hill at website Lark in the Morning - see credits)

 

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You may want to visit the following outside of Virtual Renaissance:

Pipe & Tabor
http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/ijs/pipe-and-tabor.html
Contains the rationale, history, manufacturers, references and links to the Renaissance instrument, pipe and tabor.

 

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References:

Baines, Anthony. European & American Musical Instruments. Viking Press, New York, 1966.

 

Buchner, Dr. Alexander (translated by Iris Urwin). Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Batchworth Press Limited, London, England, 1961.

Hill, Jim. "Lark in the Morning". http://www.larkinam.com/ (20 June 1996)

 

Hindley, Geoffrey (ed.). The Larousse Encyclopedia of Music. Excalibur Books, New York, 1982.

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