One of the international voices of the frame drum and the Italian tamburello. Performer, teacher and researcher: from the oral traditions of the Mediterranean to improvisation, from classical repertoires to live electronics.
“…an absolute master of frame drums.”
— Musica Jazz
“Piccioni reinvented, perhaps even standardized what we now call the modern tamburello… with a philosophical and linguistic approach borrowed from Eastern onomatopoeia.”
— Salvatore Morra, Il Giornale della Musica
“…hard-core virtuosity…”
— Michael Church, The Independent
Online courses · new edition · from 18 October 2026
Tamburello Total 1, 2 and 3 have a new home. Total 1 and 2 return remastered, with every lesson in English and in Italian; Total 3 has Italian subtitles. Until 1 November, 20% off for everyone, no code needed: one course for € 56 instead of € 70.
Book — October 2026
Years of research in archives and libraries on how the tamburello crossed the European eighteenth century, from ritual and village feast to the drawing room and the concert hall. Squilibri editore.
Out now (October 2026), € 20. The book
Book — 2026
An autoethnographic journey through the science of rhythm, the anthropology of trance and the pedagogy of orality. Rivus Edizioni, in English and Italian.
EP — 2024
Frame drums, jaw harp, handpan and electronics: five tracks born out of the FRAME MACHINE project.
Mediterranean Frame Drums — academic course
Conservatorio Statale di Musica “Saverio Arlia”, Nocera Terinese (CZ), Italy
An academic programme devoted to the frame drums of the Mediterranean, established under my direction: a three-year first level and a two-year second level in which the tamburello is not one percussive colour among many, but the principal instrument. The path covers bendir, tar, traditional and modern tamburello, tammorra, riqq, idiophones and solkattu.
Open to international students; Italian at B1 level is required.
