Generally handheld instruments with a round wooden frame and parchment or skin heads. Metal disks or bells (called jingles) are inserted into the wooden rim. By striking the head of the tambourine or by shaking it, the jingles are set in motion.

Though an ancient instrument, its structure has remained virtually unchanged. There are, however, many variants among different cultures. The Ojibwe and Cree First Nations in Canada, for example, use a traditional instrument resembling a tambourine-drum. When the drumhead is struck, jingles made from shell, metal or other small objects create a beautiful, shimmering sound.

It is possible that tambourines more commonly used in Euro-North American music originated in the Near East. In some Islamic communities, they have been called 'duff', the name possibly representing the sound which the instrument makes. In Europe, tambourines are associated with both folk and art music repertoire.

Mozart was among the earliest Western composers to include the tambourine in his compositions. Since the later eighteenth century it has become a more permanent element of the Western orchestral percussion section, often used to suggest an exotic or eastern flavor to western audiences, as in Tchaikovsky's Arabian Dance from The Nutcracker Suite.