Timbales are a pair of shallow single-headed drums with metal shells, mounted on a stand. The instrument took shape in Cuba as a lightened, “stage” version of the orchestral timpani and became one of the main voices of the Latin American rhythm section.
The player (the timbalero) strikes with sticks not only the heads but also the metal shells of the drums (the cáscara technique), and usually mounts cowbells and a woodblock alongside, creating a variety of timbres. The ringing, sharp, fiery sound of the timbales is an inseparable part of salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha, and other Latin dance genres. It is the timbales that often set the rhythmic “fills” and striking breaks that spur on the dance energy of the band.
