Mbira

Lamellaphone, also known as mbira in Zimbabwe, made with a wooden resonator carved out of a single piece of wood in a bell-shaped format, with raised edges and twenty-two lamellas made of iron alloy. The pressure bar and the bridge are also made of iron alloy, and while the first is attached to the resonator with metal wire, the latter is inserted into the wood surface. The backrest is made of a wooden strip. On the top of the resonator there is a panel made of iron alloy sheet, onto which are attached seven overlapping circular discs of iron alloy sheet with a red bead on each (one missing) for rattling effect. The panel and its accessories are attached with vegetable fibers twine. A strap of gauze cloth is attached to the ends of the pressure bar, and an extra strap of braided cord is looped to that one. Although this instrument can be played as it is, it can also be paired with a large extra gourd resonator.