Tambourin

Description

Tambourin comes from Rameau's harpsichord collection published in 1724, which includes a suite in E minor. The tambourin was a Provençal dance, traditionally accompanied by a single player piping a melody with one hand while beating a drum with the other. This piece transfers that sound to the keyboard, and it is lively and dance-like throughout.

It is in E minor and 2/2. Repeated notes in the left hand suggest the beating drum while a quick right-hand melody suggests the pipe, and the piece proceeds in a rondo-like way, a returning theme with other sections between. At about three minutes ten seconds it has some 561 notes; the density is modest, and the rhythmic pulse holds everything together.

Rated intermediate, its range fits on a 61-key keyboard. It calls for keeping the left-hand repetitions steady and light while bringing the right-hand ornaments to life. Since the two hands have clearly different roles, the hand colours let you tell drum from pipe; practising each hand alone before combining them is the quickest route. Slowing the playback also helps you hear exactly where the ornaments fall.

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