Some Thoughts On The Tambourine

I’ve always liked the sound of the tambourine. You find a lot of tambourine in the music of the mid-sixties. “Mr. Tambourine Man” sung by the Byrds is the very soul of the tambourine. Jingly jangly little drum. Reminds me of the green man in the Matisse cutout “The Sadness of the King,” playing the drum next to the king. Can’t make out either face but the king wears a black robe sprinkled with green clover. He’s playing a guitar. Although his hands aren’t holding the guitar. They seem to be floating next to the guitar. Maybe that’s how it feels to play a guitar. Hands floating through a sea of string. Or should that be notes. Sea of Notes. Noteworthy Sea. Not to mention frets. Fingers sliding up and down. Is that floating? Looks more like a concentrated effort. Focus, not floating. No reason to fret over it. I remember that first little of music in grade school. “Do the Hokey Pokey.” Catchy little tune. Silly lyrics. There’s a vigorous tambourine in “Things We Said Today,” by the Beatles. Must’ve been Ringo. Strong rhythm. He was a sickly kid. Look at him now. 81 and he looks like a kid. Always seems so happy. Wonder if that’s for real. Our social selves are never quite the same in private. Shakespeare was right. All the world is a stage. We don’t have to memorize our lines. But we do have to create them. Write our own dialogue. Or wouldn’t that be monologue. Every conversation an improvisation. All the revisions come later. Drives people crazy. French call it l’esprit de l’escalier. Wit of the staircase. It’s always after a visit with a friend or attendance at a party or argument with a neighbor in the hallway that the perfect comeback occurs to you. When it’s too late. This is precisely the kind of frustration the spirit of the tambourine is out to quash. Great combination. Metal jingles. Called Zills. And a drumhead. Circular wooden frame. Simple thing. Dates back to 1700 BC, at least. Probably goes back further. I’ll bet the shamans loved it. If I were a shaman I’d love it. Sound like that is bound to bring in the right spirits. And if they’re the wrong spirits a jingly jangly sound like that is bound to perk up anything and bring out their inner shine.