Mbira and Kalimba - ep 115

Hailing from Southern Africa, the Mbira and especially it’s more recent counterpart, the Kalimba have achieved worldwide fame and recognition. The Kalimba is diatonic, usually only an octave in range and is therefore easy to learn and play and so has found a solid home in music education throughout the world. I doubt there are too many souls in the world that have never seen one of these beauties. Let’s dive in and learn about how these instruments developed from their ancestors going back some 2 thousand years when they were made of bamboo. How did they develop into the instrument we know from the Shona people of Zimbabwe? How did a famous South African ethnomusicologist by the name of Hugh Tracy develop the Kalimba and make it a worldwide hit? We’ll find out and also learn a bit about how these are played and tuned and what magic some of them have to offer us. Check it!!!