The pipe is made out of wood, metal or plastic and consists of a cylindrical tube of narrow bore (1:40 diameter:length ratio) pierced with three holes near one end, two in front and one in back.

The pipe and tabor is depicted in illuminated manuscripts, carvings on ecclesiastical buildings in stone and wood, stained glass windows and early printed books.

[1] The pipe and tabor combination is illustrated in a plate in the 13th century work, Cantigas de Santa Maria.

[3] There are images of medieval taborers in buildings, for example York Minster, Lincoln and Gloucester cathedrals, and Tewkesbury Abbey.

In the 20th century, the makers of Generation pennywhistles introduced an economical English tabor pipe made of metal and with a plastic mouthpiece.

The txirula (high pitched flute) and the txistu are the two Basque forms of the three-hole tabor pipes tuned to the dorian mode.

The flauta or gaita and the tambor or tamboril are played in Huelva in celebrations, Cruces de Mayo, sword dances and romerías; in the music used around Romería of El Rocío (Huelva, Andalucía) this same pipe is denominated flauta rociera, gaita rociera or sometimes pito rociero (a higher pitched whistle).

[7] The Yaqui nation in Arizona and Mexico has its "Tamboristas", and the Tarahumara in the mountains of Chihuahua play a three-hole whistle (there is no back thumb hole) made from Arundo donax Cane.

In the area of the Andes mountains in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, the combination of one-handed flute and drum exists as well.

The revival of the English pipe and tabor occurred to some extent throughout the Anglophone world, including the United States and Canada.

One of the largest manufacturers of tabor pipes today is the Kelischeck Workshop, in North Carolina, makers of the Susato line of instruments.