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. It is in the shape of an icecream cone with the top and the point cut off. 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.