Thumb piano

Thumb piano

The African thumb piano is a musical instrument, a type of plucked idiophone, which is common throughout Subsaharan Africa. Thumb pianos in Africa usually consist of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys are attached.

The instrument is known by different names in different regions of Africa, including Mbira, Mbila, Mbira Huru, Mbira Njari, Mbira Nyunga Nyunga, Marimba, Karimba, Kalimba, Likembe, Okeme, as well as marímbula (also called kalimba) in the Caribbean Islands.

The Thumb Piano originated as a personal accompaniment instrument typically used during walking between visits by traveling Griots and is also often played in modern contexts as well as at religious ceremonies and social gatherings. It is a favorite instrument of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is a really wonderful instrument to play.

At some schools, this has become an instrument to teach to kids in exploratory music classes. Simple songs can be played, such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" Play one yourself here-> [http://pbskids.org/africa/piano/haveflash.html] .


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • thumb piano — n. 1. KALIMBA 2. MBIRA …   English World dictionary

  • thumb piano — noun : any of several musical instruments of African origin (as the kalimba, mbira, or zanza) that consist essentially of a resonator and a set of tuned metal or wooden strips that are plucked with the thumbs or fingers * * * ˈthumb piano 7… …   Useful english dictionary

  • thumb piano — thumb′ pian′o n. mus mad any of various African boxlike musical instruments having tuned strips of metal or wood that vibrate when played with the thumbs • Etymology: 1940–45 …   From formal English to slang

  • thumb piano — noun Date: 1949 mbira …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • thumb piano — any of various African boxlike musical instruments, such as the kalimba or mbira, having tuned strips of metal or wood that vibrate when played with the thumbs. [1940 45] * * * …   Universalium

  • thumb piano — n. kalimba, mbira, African musical instrument with resonating box made of wood or a hollow gourd having tuned strips of wood or metal affixed to it which are plucked using the thumbs …   English contemporary dictionary

  • thumb piano — noun any of various musical instruments, mainly of African origin, made from strips of metal fastened to a resonator and played by plucking with the fingers and thumbs …   English new terms dictionary

  • thumb piano — /ˌθʌm piˈænoʊ/ (say .thum pee anoh) noun a small handheld African musical instrument consisting of a wooden sound box to which thin metal strips or keys are attached and which can be plucked by the thumbs or the fingers; kalimba …  

  • piano — piano1 /pee an oh, pyan oh/, n., pl. pianos. a musical instrument in which felt covered hammers, operated from a keyboard, strike the metal strings. Cf. baby grand, concert grand, grand piano, spinet, square piano, upright piano. [1795 1805;… …   Universalium

  • Piano Concerto No. 3 (Tchaikovsky) — thumb|right|Tchaikovsky in 1893, as painted by Nikolai Kuznetzov. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky s Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, Op. post. 75, proved one of the more troublesome of its composer s musical progeny. Birthed as a symphony, then… …   Wikipedia

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