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Air forced through the chanter, or marta, vibrates the chanter reeds and produces sound. The chanter has two cane pipes, one with five finger holes and the other with three. To tune the chanter, Tsimouris adjusts the gap between each reed and its pipe with a piece of string and reduces the size of the finger holes with pieces of beeswax. The chanter is mounted in a hollow wooden elbow with a flared opening. The elbow on Tsimouris's personal instrument was carved from olive wood by his paternal grandfather and passed on to him by his father.

Today playing the tsabouna, sometimes spelled tsambouna or tzamboura, is a vanishing art, even in Greece. It is believed that the instrument was developed by herdsmen to pass time while tending sheep and goats. Tsabouna music is played in rhythmic patterns unlike the two, three, and four beat music to which most Americans are accustomed. It is dance music and nearly every tune has a song associated with it. Often the lyrics are improvised spontaneously. The repertoire of tunes, playing style and melodic ornamentation vary from one Greek island to the next.