Folk & Acoustic Musical Instrument Specialists


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MBIRA

   
Definition: played with the thumbs; "thumb piano"; its sound is produced by the vibration of tongues of metal or wood; small in size. Known as Mbira in Zimbabwe, Budongo in Uganda and Sansa and in South Africa. It is also known as Kalimba.

Read the full Tuned Percussion FAQ Page.

THUMB PIANOS

The Mbira, Kalimba, Sansa, Budongo or thumb piano is played across all of Southern Africa. The instrument is made of a wooden plate or sometimes a wooden box (with or without sound hole). A number of metal tongues, usually between 5 and 24 are attached. These are tuned by adjusting the sounding length of the tongue and can be fi...read more
May 2025: We are not currently accepting online orders as our dispatch center is closed for a couple of weeks. Please contact us with any inquiries and we will get back to you as soon as we can