The kalimba is a small, hand-held African instrument that produces music by means of plucking a taut string. The kalimba is thought to have evolved from the lamellophone family of instruments, which includes mbira, ngoni and kora. A kalimba can be made up of anywhere between four and many dozens of keys or tines, with each tine tuned to a different pitch. Many modern kalimbas have pads instead of tines (or both).
Kalimba
Kalimba is a small, hand-held African instrument that produces music by means of plucking a taut string. The kalimba consists of two trapezoidal or rectangular wooden or metal plates fastened together at one end (the sound box) and free at their other ends. The strings are stretched between these two sides and are plucked with the fingers or thumbs to create musical tones. The kalimba can be found in many different sizes but most often it will be tuned to an octave (two notes in harmony). for more details check out the latest products from Sonodrum, there are various kalimba products available.
Instrument that produces music by means of plucking a taut string
The kalimba is a small, hand-held African instrument that produces music by means of plucking a taut string. The word “kalimba” comes from the Swahili word kilimia, which means “to play.” The kalimba has a long history dating back to the 16th century and originated in Africa as an ancestor to both the marimba and xylophone. Today, it’s used in many different genres of music including folk songs and pop songs.
The kalimba is thought to have evolved from the lamellophone family of instruments
The kalimba is thought to have evolved from the lamellophone family of instruments, which includes mbira, ngoni and kora. These are all plucked instruments played with a stick or plectrum.
The African mbira is a type of lamellophone played by holding it in one hand while plucking its keys with another; it’s traditionally used as an accompaniment to Shona praise singing. The word “mbira” means “to play music” in Shona language and comes from “biribiri”, meaning “to play”.
A kalimba can be made up of anywhere between four and many dozens of keys or tines
The kalimba is a small, hand-held African instrument that produces music by means of plucking a taut string. It is thought to have evolved from the lamellophone family of instruments, which includes mbira (also known as thumb piano), ngoni and kora. The kalimba consists of wooden keys or tines arranged in graduated sizes, each tuned to a different pitch.
A kalimba can be made up of anywhere between four and many dozens of keys or tines, with each tine tuned to a different pitch. The number of keys on an instrument depends on its size: larger models have more keys than smaller ones do because they produce deeper sounds but require more skill to play accurately due to their greater range and complexity. Pads are easier to play than tines and can be used to produce a range of sounds, from piano-like tones to percussive sounds. Some kalimbas have both pads and tines; these are often called “hybrid” or “fusion” kalimbas.
Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you understand what kalimbas are and how they work. If you want to learn more about them, we recommend checking out our blog post on how to play the kalimba!