The opened end of the tassa was covered with dried goat skin after all particles of hair had been carefully removed. This piece of circular skin was tightly pulled over the drum and held in place by strips of "deer skin". The drier the goat skin the better is the sound that comes from it, hence when it is played one would notice that the surface is heated periodically to retain that clean, clear tenor sound.

Today, the sphere-like part of the tassa is being replaced by a metal hemispherical bowl which is in fact an empty tank in which refrigeration gas was stored. The goat skin is also replaced by a synthetic covering which is held in position by specially designed nuts and screws. One advantage of this new covering is that, it does not need heating.