An improved tambourine has a rigid, enclosed, jingle-supporting frame that defines a center of gravity and a number of pairs of percussion jingles connected to the frame at determined locations around one of the frame's segments. A handle for manually grasping the frame is connected to a second segment of the frame. The second segment is closer to the center of gravity of the tambourine than is the first segment, which is arcuate in shape. The second segment includes radial, inwardly turned portions and a handle-bearing portion that is substantially parallel to a chord formed between the ends of the arcuate first segment and spaced a determined distance from the geometric center of the handle.