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Mbira (/ ə m ˈ b ɪər ə / əm-BEER-ə) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs (at minimum), the right forefinger (most mbira), and sometimes the left forefinger.
The mbira is perhaps the most important instrument used. It is plucked with the fingers to produce the melody, and is often used during religious rituals by spirit mediums in order to communicate with ancestral spirits. The mbira, and consequently the mbira dance, has been around for a long time, according to archaeological digs.
An Mbira dzavadzimu. Shona music is well known as representative of mbira ("thumb piano") music. The performer of the "kushaura" (lead mbira part) often acts also as the lead vocalist, selecting a known melody or mbira pattern to accompany selected lyrics, usually a phrase or a few lines of text which are then commented upon improvisationally ...
The mbira has become a national instrument of sorts in Zimbabwe. [12] It has a number of variants, including the nhare , mbira dzavadzimu , the Mbira Nyunga Nyunga , njari mbira , and matepe . The mbira is played at religious and secular gatherings, and different mbiras have different purposes.
Many hosho styles emphasize the second pulse of the triplet. This creates an off beat articulation that follows the bass notes of the mbira's kutsihnira part. From a western perspective the hosho are seen as accompanying instruments to mbira, when in actuality they are seen as the lead instruments by the mbira players. Hosho goes well too with ...
The mbira plays a central role in the traditional Bira ceremony used to call on ancestral spirits. [14] The instrument is a central piece in their religious rituals. The most important function of mbira is the idea of it being a "telephone to the spirits" during ceremonies.
Forward Kwenda (born 1963) – mbira player; Hope Masike – mbira player and percussionist and singer; Ignatius Mabasa (born 1971) – writer and musician; Alick Macheso (born 1968) – singer-songwriter and guitarist; Safirio Madzikatire (1932–1996) – actor and musician [2] Takunda Mafika (1983–2011) – mbira player
It is one of the five main types of mbira played in Zimbabwe. The matepe is an umbrella term for many mbira-style instruments such as hera, matepe, and madhebhe. [1] The matepe, according to Sekuru Chigamba, has soundboards that are made of wood from mutiti (Erythrina abyssinica) or mupepe (Commiphora marlothii) trees. [2]