A tambourine is a shallow round frame, usually held in one hand, with small metal discs set loose around the edge so they rattle. Most have a skin or plastic head stretched over the frame; some are just the ring and the discs. You can shake it, or tap the head with your hand, or hit it against your leg — all three are normal, and each makes a different sound.

It turns up in church music, folk music, kindergarten music classes, and rock bands, where the singer often picks one up when they have nothing else to do with their hands. That has given the word a small joke: to say someone "is just playing the tambourine" can mean they are in the group but not doing anything difficult. It is gentle teasing, not an insult.

English also has tambour, the older and bigger word, meaning a drum — but ordinary people almost never say it. Stick with tambourine.