Mbira, Kalimba, Lamellaphone. Whatʻs it all about?

Рет қаралды 11,151

2 жыл бұрын

Letʻs learn about a unique group of musical instruments known by many names, and why I donʻt call them "thumb pianos".
Iʻm still a student of this tradition, and though I have been playing mbira for over 20 years, I recognize my privilege as an American of African descent in the agency I have to produce videos like this. Always seek the voices and experiences of those from the culture itself when you can!
Photo credits:
Chugrad McAndrews
Jeremy Allen
Algirdas Gelazius. Shutterstock.com
Ishootmagic. shutterstock.com
Athol Lewis. Shutterstock.com
Dietmar Temps. Shutterstock.com
Video of me playing mbira by Hoku Uchiyama
Links:
Book and music purchase: store.mahea.com
Digital music purchase: / mahealani-uchiyama
Hand-made beaded jewelry: www.etsy.com/shop/ThandiweGar...
Purchase The Mbira, An African Musical Tradition from publisher: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Purchase The Haumāna Hula Handbook from publisher: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance: www.centerforinternationaldan...
Support Zimbabwean music and musicians: www.mbira.org
Social Media:
/ mahealaniuchiyama
/ mahealaniu

Пікірлер: 90

@XolaniMzilikazi-qy8vf 2 жыл бұрын

Am Shona from Zimbabwe, we the shona invented the mbira , it’s within our blood 🩸 to play it .

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

And it is such a beautiful creation. Thank you!

@abeautifulheart 9 ай бұрын

Thank you for the beautiful video

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for viewing it@@abeautifulheart

@abeautifulheart 8 ай бұрын

@@Dancetera 🌻🌻🌻

@munyaradzinherera3383 7 ай бұрын

The only problem is for people to try and erase the word mbira to detach it from the owners or the pioneers. It's a shame

@eugenef0zzy Ай бұрын

So informative and this video is so re watchable!! Give thanks!!

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching!

@experienceafrika 4 ай бұрын

Very educational. Thank you

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@tatendampinda2147 9 ай бұрын

❤ i love mbira a very spiritual instrument .

@Hermosaonlyy 3 ай бұрын

Thank you,Very resourceful❤

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@RudoMoto Жыл бұрын

Nice exposition on this family of instruments. One theory on it’s presence in various forms across Africa stems from the Bantu migration where people migrated from the present day Cameroon & Nigeria to Kenya/Tanzania in the east and Zimbabwe/South Africa in the south via the Congo. On the specific Mbira tunings, the main ones from ancient times are Nyamaropa , Nhemamusasa, Mavembe(Nemakonde), Matepe. Over time the tunings evolved and other new tunings are emerging e.g the Kutsanzaira tuning. It’s nigh impossible to name them all as it is itself an art and each artist expresses themselves in their own style. Generally though, certain songs play better on a certain tuning, e.g Nhemamusasa, Karigamombe, Bangidza & Mukatiende are typical Nhemamusasa tunings while Marenje plays better on Mavembe. Oh one can write a whole dissertation on the subject, not a single person can describe it all. Thanks for the lecture.

@Dancetera Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@RosendahlMusic Ай бұрын

Great and informative video, thank you!

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

You are very welcome! Iʻm glad you liked it!

@fryingpantothefacestudios6665 4 ай бұрын

This is an amazing video! You truly deserve more views and subscribers

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

Aw, you are so very kind. Iʻm glad you liked the video!

@bigchiefcinema9654 Ай бұрын

thank you for the wealth of information.

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching!

@IsaiahLove777 8 ай бұрын

Thank you from Salem, Oregon.

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you Isaiah!

@eugenef0zzy Ай бұрын

Do you play? I am in Eugene OR

@Undressful 9 ай бұрын

God bless you. I just have the kalimba and now I feel connected with african culture. I now understand it comes from Zimbabwe. Love to all african people from Bulgaria :)

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much and many blessings to you as well!

@ConejitoPequenito 5 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the great explanation!

@Dancetera 5 ай бұрын

Youʻre very welcome!

@user-nq4tc7dj2y 4 күн бұрын

❤ amazing 😍

@Vanessa-yp4pv 4 ай бұрын

Incredible, thank you so much.

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

You are very welcome! Thank you so much for watching!

@algaedrone1833 4 ай бұрын

So exciting! Thank you so much for this video! Honestly I’d consider this group to be the most ethereally beautiful musical instruments 😍

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

You are welcome, and I completely agree!

@eddieosborne7768 2 жыл бұрын

The information in this offering is well-delivered and on point! Many thanx!

@hiker64 2 жыл бұрын

You have brought so much knowledge to the west with your instruments and outreach my brother - Completely agree with your thoughts on this video.

@TubularBlakfacts-ex4tl 26 күн бұрын

Nice video. Very scholarly.

@WORLDDRUMCLUB Жыл бұрын

Lovely presentation and much needed perspective! Thank you!

@Dancetera Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@toxic8705 8 ай бұрын

thanks for spreading culture

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@taronlewis2131 6 ай бұрын

This is amazing queen! Where can I purchase an authentic mbira? The vibrations of this instrument truly give me added peace!

@Dancetera 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! If you would like to obtain an mbira or get lessons, please contact me at africanamericanmbiraproject@gmail.com

@ludgamedev 6 ай бұрын

Wonderful explanation! I buy a kalimba made in ocidental way but i wish research More about it and find your vídeo. Thanks for that! Greatings from Brazil. ❤

@Dancetera 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@12fishcake 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for the wonderful explanation, I find it fascinating to learn about these unique instruments and what they mean to the people and cultures they originate from. Music has such a profound ability to connect us and bring people together, and the significance and purpose of the Mbira as you described perfectly illustrates this.

@Dancetera 7 ай бұрын

So glad you found this video. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!

@BCaroselli 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this.

@Dancetera 7 ай бұрын

You are welcome.

@kalimba_fm 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing this beauty and invitation for deeper understanding of the whole kalimba family 🙏

@Dancetera 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and for your kind comment!

@jayleetzvevo460 Жыл бұрын

❤❤❤❤As a Shona I'm humbled with your narrative The instrument has a Strong history the Time we where created as Humans this was the music playing behind. Not those lies that it's a big bang

@Dancetera Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@zaralbsstuff 8 ай бұрын

This video is much more in-depth than any source I've seen before, I love using the kalimba in my own music and I'm very grateful to hear more about it's origins and learn new things about how different a kalimba is from other similar instruments. The thing about the bottle caps was new to me, but very interesting. And please, in the future, try to not hard-pan your voice, it is a little weird to listen to a video that way.

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the kind words. However could you kindly explain what it means to "hard-pan" my voice? I am not very techy and would like to learn how to makes my videos better.

@kathleenborsch1312 3 ай бұрын

@@Dancetera I looked up this term. Basically, it refers to recording a sound, like your voice or a section of a band, just on one "side" of the stereo listening experience, instead of evenly balanced between both earphones or speakers. (Personally, I thought you sounded fine.)

@machotransandyravage 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for such a wonderful video! I'm so thankful to finally have an insight of the importance of these instruments. I first played kalimba as a child but had no idea of their cultural significance. Having bought another recently I thought it best to try and learn as much about them as I could, and you made that possible.

@Dancetera 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Iʻm really happy that you liked this video.

@2krandolph 10 ай бұрын

very nicely done. Thank you

@HMohr 8 ай бұрын

Amazing video. Love from Brazil 🇧🇷

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment!

@ArdeerMusic 11 ай бұрын

Brilliant video! Fantastically educational and inspirational too - it encouraged me to reach for both my Mbira Dzavadzimu & my Tracey Kalimba. I especially loved hearing the one piece played on the three different instruments and noticing just how much the progression changed from one instrument to the next. I would really like to learn how to play the Mbira Dzavadzimu better, as I've only ever really used it for jamming and sampling in my compositions. Perhaps it's time to look up a tune to learn on it! Thank you for making this video anyway - your soothing voice made it all the more enjoyable. ☺️🙏

@Dancetera 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing your kind comments! Iʻm so glad you liked the video!

@AvidBeats Жыл бұрын

this is a beautifully written video - I am looking to learn the mbira or kalimba soon and this was an amazing insight to the history and details of both the culture and instrument itself. Thank you! 🎶💜💜💜💜💜💞💞💞

@Dancetera Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, and blessings to you on your mbira journey!

@scotchbonnie4122 Жыл бұрын

This was a brilliantly done video. Thank you for this 🙏🏿♥️

@Dancetera Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! So glad you liked it!

@jonsundell8061 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for your lovely music and explanation. I have been tgrying to decide what type of kalimba, karimba or mbira to buy for a Christmas present. I am a storyteller, and I would like to use some traditional songs to complement African stories. I hope it would not be considered inappropriate to combine mbira music with some stories. I am looking at a used mbira dzavadzimu.

@Dancetera 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for your kind words. I would think mbira could be incorporated in story-telling, but I defer to any Zezeru who would care to comment on this.

@hiker64 2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@timebot000 10 ай бұрын

Greetings! Your video just popped in, and there you are playing dangurangu the same part i just learned and practice every day😊. I see you came out from Berkeley and so did i, long ago, is where i started learning Mbira! You are a gifted and disciplined Teacher, much Respect to you! We are so sorry about Lahaina, hope you and yours are well today ❤

@Dancetera 10 ай бұрын

Greetings! Thank you so much for your subscription and for your kind comments! 😊

@sandramorey2529 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Mahea: Great lecture. We are always impressed with your scholarship. This is one instrument I have been strongly intimidated by for most of my adult life. I like your thorough & easy to understand trip through this wonderful and simple instrument. Mahalo. Sandi and Shim in Oakland Ca

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Sandi! Many blessings to you and Shim.

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

By the way Sandi, if you ever wanted to try learning to play, let me know!

@RhythmInAfrica 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

Thank YOU!

@kathleenborsch1312 3 ай бұрын

I have an interest in folk instruments of the U.S. and Europe, and how they "migrate". However, I'm only beginning to learn about the instruments of African cultures. I know that enslaved Africans brought the banjo to America. What about the kalimba family and others - were they not introduced during those early times as well? It just seems odd that a westerner introduced these instruments to the rest of the world. Thank you.

@taylor3950 2 ай бұрын

My guess is that it’s because of the geography of the slave trade. Enslaved people were primarily West African while these instruments were more popular in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. So my ancestors recreated and iterated on their string instruments (ngoni, kora etc) and developed the banjo.

@kathleenborsch1312 2 ай бұрын

@@taylor3950 Thank you for the explanation. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I must study this more.

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

These were not introduced on the American continent during the same era as was the banjo, but an iteration of it, the marimbula, was developed in the Caribbean pretty early on.

@Dancetera Ай бұрын

@@taylor3950 Agreed.

@Dancetera 2 жыл бұрын

Links and information in the description above!

@handfp 9 ай бұрын

Hi Mahealani, this is a lovely video. What tuning is your mbira? As in nemamusasa, gandanga, dongonda, dambatsoko etc...

@Dancetera 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! In the video I'm playing gandanga tuning.

@trabouliste1037 26 күн бұрын

The music box isn’t from African origin, but uses the same principle, so the word lamellophone may be the right category to subsume all of these different tone generators under one term.