the caixas are typically a foot across and eight inches tall, with simple cables of guitar string or wire strung across the bottom. the tarol is a small cousin of the caixa de guerra, of the same diameter and half the height which delivers an alto voice at a slightly lower volume than its larger relative.

smallest skinned drum of the bateria, the tamborim is a native or rio de janeiro. formerly made of wood with animal hide and struck with a split bamboo stick, they are now made from metal with taught nylon skins and struck with a polyacetate drum stick.