Marimbula

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Marimbula with ten lamellas
With five out of seven slats in a vertical playing position

The marímbula , also called bass kalimba and R (h) umba box , is a lamellophone with a resonance box . It originally comes from Africa and is used today especially in the Caribbean and in turn in Son music .

It often consists of a wooden box with one or more large to medium-sized resonance holes, similar to a cajón . On the front there are protruding lamellas (metal strips) that are plucked or hit with a mallet . The length of the eight slats on average determines the pitch.

There is no defined sound or a predetermined design. The instruments differ according to their size, their shape and the material of the resonance body, the number and the sound of the lamellas.

There are two common types of play: the player sits on the instrument and plays the slats between his legs or the instrument is in front of the player like a xylophone .

literature

  • Donald Thompson: The Marimbula, to Afro-Caribbean Sanza. In: Anuario Interamericano de Investigacion Musical, Vol. 7. University of Texas Press, 1971, pp. 103-116.

Web links

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