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Welcome to Atelier Petite Californie

Atelier Petite Californie (Small California Workshop) is a space dedicated to research on wood resonance, a kind of laboratory, a place of creation where all Tamböas of the world are made and the Kalimbas of the series K-9, K-11, K-15 and SM-15.

 It was in the early 1990s that as a musician and woodworker, I decided to combine my interests in music and woodworking in a common project, a research on the resonance of the indigenous woods of eastern Canada. From the first months of this journey, my gaze was attracted by amazing old versions of instruments from the slit drum family such as the Aztec teponatzly and more contemporary versions like “tongue drums”, log drums etc. From their principle, the vibration of the wood that is part of the sounding board, I started a very long series of prototypes. From one to the other, they allowed me to understand and control the different parameters of the sound and, ultimately, took their current form.     I named it Tamböa, a wooden lamella drum tuned in a multitude of minor pentatonic scales for the quality of their harmonies. 

The beauty of the sound, the great ease of playing it, its intuitive and playful side, allowed the Tamböa to make its way with a varied clientele. They are used today for musical awakening in early childhood centers and schools, children love them! They are greatly appreciated by musictherapists and their patients.They are part of the instrumentarium of several storytellers, puppeteers, musicians etc … 

Have a nice visit and do not hesitate to contact me for any inquiries.

Gilles Perrault

Artisan founder of A.P.C.

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