Well I was rushing to do something else and I really messed up that quote that I included in my previous post.

The quote often used in Hip-Hop songs is

"Put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care."


And BTW-I've never known African Americans to bring tamborines to non-religous concerts...

Also I think that far fewer Black church goers * {choir and non-choir members} bring tamborines to church or gospel concerts than was the case when I was growing up in the 1950s.

*I'm speaking here of Baptist churches, the largest Black American Christian demomination..I would expect that are more African American tamborine playing folks in santified {COGIC-Church of God In Christ} churches.

I think that the reason why non-musicians like to play the tamborine is that they can pretend that they are musicians and participate in the music making experience {which on some level is a good thing}.

But I hear what you are saying Clinton, about those tamborine players messing up a song because they don't know what they're doing.

However, when it comes to religious services, I miss those church members-usually ladies-adding to the percussive experience by playing their tamborines often in a masterful way.

While it's great that many Black Baptist churches have added snare drums, and electric guitars and basses to the organs and piano playing that they had before {something that would have been 'unheard of' less than 10 years ago}, IMO they loss something when the congregations largely ceased owning and playing tamborines.