The tarol is only played in a few samba schools of Rio de Janeiro. The two Grupo Especial schools are Acadêmicos do Salgueiro and Unidos da Vila Isabel. More about the specific patterns of the tarol at the two schools below.
This drum has 6 strings and is 12 inches in diameter which is pretty standard and provides a nice crisp but full buzz sound. It is typically played vertically either up on the arm like caixa em cima or on a strap hung below the arm.
There is a 14 inch tarol available here. 14" Tarol
This drum will not work well hanging near the waist, hung on a shoulder strap like caixa em baixo style. It will just flop forward and be super annoying.
4 lbs 3 oz.
The Salgueiro tarol pattern is the one that I am most familiar with, and actually the "pattern" is really 3 patterns that are alternated between and the player is free to switch around between the patterns and improv a little. Check out this video from a young member of Salgueiro's 2025 bateria.
The Vila Isabel tarol pattern is a 2 bar phrase. The first bar is played like what folks in Portland used to call "Viradouro Style" and the second bar has a buzz on the "e" of 3. Check out this video from Vila Isabel bateria 2025.
