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MBIRA is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate the public regarding traditional Shona music of Zimbabwe, including mbira music, and to develop a library of recordings to preserve that music. One of the primary objectives of MBIRA is to ensure that Shona music activities outside Zimbabwe benefit Zimbabwean musicians and instrument makers. This will generally support the preservation of traditional music in Zimbabwe.
A Shona mbira piece consists of a basic cyclical pattern which includes numerous intertwined melodies, often with contrasting rhythms. The extensive possibilities for rhythmic and melodic variation render each performance unique. When two mbiras are played together, the interlocking parts result in rich polyphony and polyrhythms.
A traditional repertoire of hundreds of pieces is transmitted from generation to generation, and pieces popular today are known to have been played over 700 years ago. At traditional Zimbabwean ceremonies (mapira), ancestors are called by performing their favorite songs; thus, the same pieces are retained in the repertoire over the centuries.
Zimbabwe's mbira shown below is the primary traditional instrument of the Zezuru tribes of the Shona people, and has been played for over 1,000 years at religious rituals, royal courts, and social occasions. It consists of 22 to 28 metal keys mounted on a hardwood soundboard and is usally placed inside a large gourd resonator (deze). The keys are played with the two thumbs plucking down and the right forefinger plucking up.
Click to hear an mbira duo on Bangidza. (MP3 format).
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