Tumbi


The tumbi or toombi, also called a tumba or toomba, is a traditional musical instrument from the Punjab region of the northern Indian subcontinent. The high pitched, single string plucking instrument is associated with folk music of Punjab and presently very popular in Western Bhangra music.
The tumbi was popularized in the modern era by the Punjabi folksinger Lal Chand Yamla Jatt. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s most of the Punjabi singers used the tumbi, such as Kuldeep Manak, Mohammed Sadiq, Didar Sandhu, Amar Singh Chamkila and Kartar Ramla.
It's also been used by Punjabi Sufi singers with the likes of Kanwar Grewal and Saeen Zahoor.
The Tumbi
The instrument is made of a wooden stick mounted with a gourd shell resonator. A single metallic string is passed on a resonator over a bridge and tied to the key at the end of the stick. The string is struck with the continuous flick and retraction of the first finger.It is in the string family. And it is very easy to learn how to play it. It has one string and it is kind of like a guitar. It is just a lot smaller and it has one string. Plus it is played differently.

Use in Western music