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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 a traditional instrument of the Shona People often used in religious ceremonies. There are several different varieties of mbira including the mbira dzavadzimu and mbira nyunga nyunga. An Mbira dzavadzimu. Shona music is well known as representative of mbira ("thumb piano") music.
He was a master performer of the mbira, a traditional instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. He specialized in the form of mbira called nyunga nyunga, as well as the Zimbabwean marimba. He introduced Zimbabwean music to North America, initiating a flourishing of Zimbabwean music in the Pacific Northwest that continues into the 21st century ...
The mbira (left) and the karimba or mbira nyunga nyunga in Tracey's hands The spiritual center of the African lamellophone world is Zimbabwe. The instrument that Hugh Tracey had fallen in love with when he arrived in Africa in the 1920s was the mbira , a complex 24-note lamellophone used by the Shona people of Zimbabwe .
Mbira pleases both the living and the dead". In 1991, Musekiwa was a key member of the band Panjea, founded by Chris Berry. He composed the hit song "Ganda" on Panjea's Zimbabwean album. Currently Musekiwa teaches mbira at Prince Edward School in Harare. He is a singer, dancer, drummer, and he plays both mbira dzavadzimu and nyunga nyunga.
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.
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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.