The timbales are a percussion instrument, whose history is closely connected to the history of Cuban music. Its ancestors, the European timpani, were brought to Cuba more than two hundred years ago. Since I am studying at the Rotterdam conservatory, I have learned much about the timbales. I have practiced different playing techniques, transcribed many solos, listened to Cuban music and picked up much information about famous timbal players. But at the end of my studies I realized that I was lacking deeper knowledge about the history and the development of the timbales, which I consider my instrument of choice. In the process of writing my thesis I hope to gain knowledge to be able to retrace the historical path that the timbales have taken, since their ancestors were brought to Cuba. I also hope to achieve to understand, why timbales in Cuba are played the way they are, and which styles of music were involved in the development of the actual way of playing. This is why I came up with the following central question for my thesis: “How did the timbales become an essential part in Cuban popular music?” To structure my research in a way that it would effectively help me to answer my central question, I decided to break down the question into its three parts. ʻTimbalesʼ, ʻCuban popular musicʼ and ʻBecoming an essential partʼ. I chose these three topics to serve me as my main chapters and subdivided each chapter into several aller sections. In the three main chapters I will present a short history of the timbales, an overview of Cuban styles of music and have a closer look at the Cuban way of playing timbales. The information that I present in this thesis is collected from: hours of lessons; specialized books and the internet. Brought into a meaningful order, it will allow the reader to gain an insight view of the timbales history and its current role in Cuban popular music.