The Complete Pandeiro Guide - Part 1
Course Overview
Your foundation on the pandeiro with Matthias Haffner
If you want to...
- learn all about the traditional Brazilian tambourine
- learn to play traditional rhythms such as Samba Enredo, Choro, Polka, Tango Brasileiro, Samba in 3-2, Samba de Raiz, Maxixe, Choro Sambado, Samba de Roda and Marcha.
- learn about the history of the instrument
- practice with Brazilian music
Then this course is perfect for you!
Matthias is a great pandeiro player and a fantastic teacher. His complete pandeiro guide is like an encyclopedia of traditional and modern rhythms, techniques, and playing styles for this inconspicuous and fascinating tambourine.
David Kuckhermann
Take a Look Inside
1,2,3. Introduction, Playing Position
4. The Basic Sounds and Techniques
5. Samba
6. The Choro and its rhythms
7. The Partido Alto
8. Samba De Roda
9. The Forró and its rhythms
10, 11, 12. Coco, Samba de Latada and Ciranda
13, 14. Marcha and Frevo
Get Started Now
Individual Course
€79 €69
Pay once for ongoing course access
WPA membership
€29 €19 /month
Unlimited courses & community access, billed quarterly
Your Instructor
Matthias Haffner has more than 30 years experience of playing Brazilian percussion. He studied Brazilian-, Cuban- and world-percussion at the conservatory in Rotterdam from 1996 - 2002 and played in countless bands and projects. His work includes projects together with the samba-legend Paulinho da Viola, choro virtuous Paulo Moura, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Rogerio Souza and the EPM in Rio de Janeiro.
Haffner lived in and travelled to Brazil several times to study with the masters there: Marcos Suzano, Bernardo Aguilar, Guello, Celsinho Silva, Jorginho do Pandeiro, Robertinho Silva, Jovi Joviano, Sergio Krakowski, Mamão etc. In 2014 he made a tour through Minas Gerais with his Choro Trio Bola Preta and travelled to Pernambuco, Bahia and Rio to work on a unique project: a video documentary about the Pandeiro. On this trip, he met many old and new Pandeiro masters. Matthias Haffner is teacher for Brazilian percussion and Pandeiro at the first Choro school outside Brazil: the EPM Holanda, based in Rotterdam, an official branch of the famous Choro school EPM in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2016, he moved his base to Berlin / Germany, where he plays and teaches regularly. There, he also founded his monthly Roda de Choro and a huge Pandeiro orchestra, the Pandeirada Berlin.
Haffner gives masterclasses for Pandeiro and Brazilian percussion in whole Europe (Holland, England, Portugal, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Turkey) and abroad (New York, Salvador, Japan, Taiwan).
In 2018, his book “Blocos Afro” about the Afro-Samba tradition in Bahia was published.
Besides his career as a musician and teacher, Haffner also builds high quality Pandeiros together with his colleague Perander: the HP Pandeiro.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about learning hand drumming online with us, from djembe and congas to darbuka, cajón, frame drums, and beyond.

