Kalimba

The kalimba is a very important instrument. It consists of a sound box and a row of metal tines, set side by side and cut to the right length to produce particular notes. There are several variations of shape, the best known having a rectangular box. Early kalimbas were made on tortoise shell and also on stone, which took much more skill and care, since a single wrong blow could make the instrument sound completely different and unpleasant.

Over the years the kalimba changed form and shape, but always kept its characteristic sound. Today its sound box can take any shape the maker wants, from a guitar to a heart or various fruits. The way the tines are fixed and their shape have changed too, but the sound remains the same. It has also had many names: kaliba, kariba, kasiba. All these changes have helped the kalimba survive for so long.

The kalimba differs from other keyboard-like instruments, such as the piano, in that the notes it can play are limited to a single scale. In this it resembles the harmonica. So even someone who knows nothing about music can play different tunes very easily.