The Neapolitan folk music has very ancient origins. In fact,
it was born around the 13th century, when Frederick II
founded the University of Neaples and it was the result of
a spontaneous expression of the Neapolitan people. But it
was only in the 17th century that this music became what
we know today. In this period new rhythms like the
tarantella, and new instruments like the triccheballacche,
tammorra, putipù and old instruments like the mandolin
where introduced into the Neapolitan repertoire.
THE TAMMORRA
 The tammorra is the main instrument of the Campania
tradition and it claims very ancient origins. Widespread all
over the Mediterranean, the tammorra accompanies both
traditional songs and dances. It belongs to the frame drum
family, whose top side is made of a dried skin membrane,
stretched over a circular wooden frame. The frame can have
rectangular holes where tin jingles, called cymbals, are placed.
When there are no jingles, the tammorra is called “mute”.
THE HISTORY OF
THE
TAMMORRA
 The history of the tammorra
is reconstructed through
archeological finds. It begins
with some Phoenician
statuettes of female figures
and Greek paintings that
show women in the act of
playing a drum similar to the
current tammorra. Among
the Romans we find it with
the name of tympanum. In a
Pompeian mosaic this drum
is represented in the hands
of a musician playing the
instrument turning it to the
bottom. The term tammorra
is finally adopted in the
Middle Ages.
HOW TO PLAY THE
TAMMORRA
If you want to play the tammorra you have to hold the
frame from the botton with just one hand keeping it
perpendicular to the body. The way you hold the tammorra
is very important. When the instrument is held with the left
hand and beaten with the right one, they say it is used in the
male way. The use of the tammorra is difficult, because it
requires uncommon rhythmic qualities. There is no general
rule to hold the tammorra because each player finds his/her
own way to play it.
THE
TAMMURRIATA
The origins of the tammurriata are
lost in the mists of time. It has its
roots in the ancient Greek and
Sanskrit dances. Some of these
ancient dances presented features
that we can still find in the present
dance of the tammurriata. The
tammurriata is a dance in pairs and
expresses all that nowadays is denied
and repressed. It is composed of
gestures that assume a symbolic and
magic meaning.
The history of the
mandolin is very old and it
is linked to the history of
the lute.
The lute appears for the
first time in Egypt around
the seventh century AD. It
was introduced by the
Arabs. With passing of
time and different social
and cultural influences,
a constructive evolution
of this instrument led to
the birth of new musical
instruments which,
although differing in
wood, size, shape and
tuning, have common
characteristics.
The mandolin with its
current form was
built for the first
time in Florence, in
1652. This instrument,
especially for the
tone and sweetness
of the sound, soon
established in Italy.
for this reason there
are various kinds of
mandolin in use in Italy
and especially in
Neaples.
The traditional Neapolitan mandolin is
tear-shaped with a bowl back. It has eight
strings paired into the four violin
tunings of g, d, a and e. The strings are
played with a pick, producing the
characteristic ‘tremolo’ when the pick is
rapidly moved over the unison strings.
It is a big mistake to think that the mandolin is
just a folk instrument suitable to play
serenades, popular or folk pieces. Authors as
Pergolisi, Stavinsky, Vivaldi, Paisiello, Mozart,
Beethoven, Verdi, Mahler, Prokofiev and many
others have written for this instrument.
Berlioz says in his “treatise
of the orchestra” : “the
sound of mandolin has
something of spicy, witty
and original, irreplaceable
with other instruments
such as the guitar and
violin”
One of the most original instruments created by the
inventiveness of the people from the south of Italy and in
particular from the Neapolitan area is the “Caccavella”, which for
onomatopeia, is called “Putipù”
The “Caccavella” or “Putipù” is made
up of a sound box, a skin membrane
and a bamboo cane.
The sound box can be an earthware
pan, a wooden tub or a tin can.
Big tomato cans are often used for this purpose.
When the animal skin is not available, the membrane is
replaced with a thick cloth.
On the upper end of the bamboo cane
there is a ribbon or another decoration.
The lower end of the bamboo cane is
inserted into a hole made in the middle
of the membrane. The bamboo cane
and the membrane are tightly tied and
fixed on the upper edge of the soundbox
Vibrations are produced rubbing the bamboo cane
against the membrane. These vibrations are
amplified by the air inside the soundbox and create
the characteristic, humoristic and sometimes
disquieting sound
It is made up of three hammers framed among them.
The three wooden hammers are parallel. The Bottom
frame joins the three hammers. The upper frame
makes the two external hammers slide.
These hammers are
moved by a musician,
and beating against the
central hammer, which
remains fixed, they
produce the
characteristic sound of
the instrument. The
hammers have tin jingles
so that each beat of the
hammer produces a
percussive sound similar
to the sound of the
tambourine.