Tambourine 6" (15 cm) in diameter, the barrel is usually no more than 4 cm deep. Generally made of metal, it is sometimes made of wood or plastic resin. The membrane is most often made of nylon, held in place by tie rods. It is very taut to produce a particularly dry and high-pitched sound. The tamborim is held with the so-called "weak" hand, the thumb and little finger on the outside of the drum, the other fingers on the inside. The index or middle finger is sometimes used to modify the sound by touching the skin from the inside. The instrument can be played either with a wooden stick to accompany a pagoda, chorinho or bossa nova formation as a soloist, or with a flexible, multi-stranded plastic stick (nylon or polyacetal) as part of a samba drum set.