I don't speak English well, I am Brazilian the text is a translation of Wikipedia.
History of the Pandeiro
From the neolithic that the instrument is plenty known and popular in Asia, Africa and Europe, having however the possibility of already to exist in the paleolíthic. In all the great civilizations of the past, of the Fertile Crescent to Egipto, going by Greece and Rome, the pandeiro appears acted with vulgarity especially in turn of Mediterranean. it use stayed to the present time in most of the areas of the world getting to reach orchestras, in the execution of the Precious opera, of Weber. In Portugal it is known aspandeiro, pandeireta (the smallest) or adufe, in Brazil pandeiro.
In Brazil, when the Choro (kind of music) appeared, in the end of XIX century, the pandeiro came to give the final touch to the outstanding and malicious rhythm, initially executed to the piano and string instruments and of blow.
At the beginning, the pandeiros were manufactured in a simple way, without technical elegance. Today, some manufacturers improve in it making, using membrane of goat skin to get, in the tambourine, the serious sounds of the deaf and platinelas of noble metals to reach a brilliant and necessary sound.
The tambourines more used have diameter of 10 inches, however they also exist with diameter of 10.5, 11 and 12 inches. According to the size of the ring, the platinelas number varies from 5 to 10 equal.
Pandeiristas (Who play pandeiro) exist for all of the corners of Brazil, be acting in Choro groups and of samba, in orchestras, and until those that simply carry wherever his tambourine the space, playing in musical meetings. In the history of MPB, they have been many the illustrious pandeiristas
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My contribution,
Truly the good pandeiro is made with cat skin, we say that a pandeiro done with cat skin cry, the sound is completely different from the sound of the goat skin. There is a joke that says: when poor eats barbecue, he made a pandeiro with the cat skin and with the meat he made the barbecue, (churrasquinho de gato). a lot of people have the nickname of brick, for being specialist in killing cats with a brick, it is necessary to know to kill the cat for not damaging the leather and for the animal not to suffer
Now it practices of killing cat is crime (cruelty against animals), but it is still little practiced.