When was the mbira invented

This is how Zulu shaman Credo Mutwa wraps up the story of the karimba and how it came to people. Karimba was the very first instrument to come to people. Even the drums came later, as well as the marimba itself named after the beautiful queen. The karimba song, the first shaman, the first magic that rolled away a stone and prevented death from stalking humanity.

Second of all, it came to lead the living and the dead — here we feel the role of the mbira in ceremony, uniting people with their Ancestors and singing the song of the Earth where all, both dead and alive, want to come together and dance.

As Baba Credo Mutwa writes later in the book, when Marimba, delighted with her new invention, continues to create musical instruments, each with a distinctive voice and purpose. This is the most muscle-punishing dance that can ever be performed. Mbira, the very first instrument. What came later? Drums, sure. All children of the mbira, all learning how to be in their power in the material world. The harnessing of vibration into beauty and color and song and spirit.

The legend of mbira origins, wrapped up carefully in the old book of an old, tired man who has seen a century. Let us listen to him, roll away the stones on our own deaths, and sing the song of the mbira that will bring us together with us our Ancestors.

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Privacy Policy and User Agreement. All Rights Reserved. The Secret Origins of the Mbira, I. Legends help us truly feel the origins of instruments and music. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on pinterest. Mark Holdaway. Mark Holdaway has been playing kalimba for over 30 years. Older types of water drums have been used in Native American, African and Southeast Asian music and were generally made from wood and clay.

The waterphone produces hauntingly ethereal sounds similar to the calls of humpback whales or the creepy sounds produced by a theremin. Because they are atonal they are easy and fun to play. They can be played either as a bowed instrument or as a percussively. Because it is extremely lite and has an elongated neck, it makes it much easier to hold while playing.

What takes a long time is how to play for a long time. It is like the wheel goes round and round. At a ceremony you must be able to play for the whole night. You get blisters on the fingers. But you must care and feel for the music, you must play hard for the people to hear because mbira [in its indigenous setting] is not amplified".

An instrument that has 15 metal keys is called a nyunga nyunga. These 15 keys are arranged in 2 different rows and is a type of mbira instrument.

Mbira, a type of African thumb piano Mbaqanga, a style of South African music from the early s. Madal, marimba, maguhu, mandolin, melodica, mandora and maracas are musical instruments that begin with the letter m. Additional instruments include mbira, mellophone, mandocello, mandola, mizmar and mridangam. It was invented when it was invented XD. The ipad was invented in and Apple INC. An Mbira is an instrument that developed in Africa.

It is also called a thumb piano. It can be tuned by lengthening or shortening the metal keys Hope this helped :. Log in. Musical Instruments. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides. Q: When was the Mbira invented? Write your answer Related questions. Who invented the mbira? What are the other two names for a mbira? What is an array mbira? What is an African mbira made of?

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