KALIMBA or calimba

KALIMBA

. Musical Instrument spread throughout the African continent. Get different names, depending on the countries and peoples: malimba, Mbira, kisaanji, likembe, sanza, and so on. It is built; the body of gourd, wood and strips of steel, with different tuning. It's very simple to play.

Idiófono This is a game of steel sheets of different length, despite what we are building in steel plates were formerly bamboo spines of a cactus or, later in time, it began using the rays of bicycle wheel , Tissue electrical wires, etc.. The keys are attached to a bridge that produce sounds to be pressed with fingers. Depending on the size of the plates vibrates more or less which translates into different musical notes that can be refined extending or reducing its length.

The sounding board can take many different forms and materials. We use a body of pumpkin and wooden lid.
It is attached with both hands and play with your fingers thumbs.

As with the Mbira, Kalimba name is known throughout much of Africa, but regionally, Mbira is the name most commonly used in Zimbabwe, while Kalimba is the name used in Kenya, the name ikembe used in Rhuanda, and likembe is the name used in the Congo, there are more generic names for this type of idiófono which are often used in western Africa.

Something very peculiar is that the musical notes ranging from the centre (the bass) to the ends (more acute musical notes), and the musical scale alternates for each key, something also typical of other African instruments like the kora, valiha, etc.
OUR KALIMBAS

In the photo, top left corner of the small of 8 keys, below left the medians of 10 keys, in the middle big size of 12 keys, on the right sizes giants between 12 to 15 keys, some of the big with built-in microphone.