Pluck the keys of a real mbira dzaVadzimu, recorded one by one: the bass and middle rows under your left thumb, the high row under your right hand. Switch on the deze for the gourd and its buzz, start a cycle, and play the kushaura while the machine plays the interlocking kutsinhira and the hosho keep the pulse.
Mbira music lives between two players. This page gives you the instrument, recorded, and a partner who never tires.
The 24 keys are recordings of a real mbira dzaVadzimu in nyamaropa tuning, from the Versilian Community Sample Library, released in the public domain under CC0. Each key keeps its own voice, slightly off the piano's tuning, as on every mbira.
On the left, the middle row sits beside the long bass keys, both for the left thumb. On the right, the high row is for the right thumb and index finger. Labels name each key by row and position from the centre: B1, L3, R5.
Players set the mbira inside a large calabash, the deze, which amplifies it, and fix shells or bottle caps that buzz with every note. That sizzle is part of the sound; switch it on or off to hear the difference.
Mbira pieces are played by two parts that interlock: the kushaura leads, the kutsinhira slips its notes into the gaps. Listen to both, then play the kushaura yourself while the machine plays the kutsinhira and the hosho.
In Play the kushaura, the keys of the next pulse glow in green before they come. Each note you play lights its pulse on the cycle grid, green when it lands in time, red when it does not, and a counter keeps the score.
Tap several keys at once on a phone or tablet. On a computer, the bottom row of letters plays the bass row, the middle row the middle keys and the top row the high keys, read by position on any keyboard layout.
Tap the long keys on the left for the bass, the shorter ones for the middle row, the right side for the high row.
Press Listen: the kushaura plays with its partner and the hosho, and the grid follows the 48 pulses.
Lower the tempo and watch the four phrases of twelve pulses go round.
Press Play the kushaura and pluck the keys as they glow, while the machine plays the kutsinhira.
| Type | Mbira dzaVadzimu (lamellophone of the Shona people of Zimbabwe), playable on this page, free |
|---|---|
| Keys | 24 keys in nyamaropa tuning: 7 middle (L1-L7), 7 bass (B1-B7), 10 high (R1-R10) |
| Sound | One recording per key from the Versilian Community Sample Library, CC0, in one 390 KB file; deze buzz and gourd added live |
| Accompaniment | Hosho (gourd shakers) in threes, interlocking kutsinhira part |
| Cycles | Sunrise, River and Market: 48 pulses in four phrases of twelve, GOONS originals |
| Tempo | 70 to 160 BPM |
| Keyboard | Z to M (bass row), A to J (middle row), Q to P (high row); mouse, multi-touch and pen |
| Requirements | Any modern browser with Web Audio - Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari |
The mbira dzaVadzimu, "mbira of the ancestors", is the lamellophone of the Shona people of Zimbabwe: twenty-two to twenty-eight metal keys fixed on a hardwood soundboard and plucked with both thumbs and the right index finger. It is played for entertainment and at bira, the night-long ceremonies where families call on their ancestors. In 2020 UNESCO inscribed the art of crafting and playing the mbira in Malawi and Zimbabwe on its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
A piece is a cycle, usually of 48 pulses, that turns again and again with variations. One player sets out the kushaura, another weaves the kutsinhira into its gaps, and the hosho shakers mark the pulse in threes, so the music feels both in four and in three. The cycles on this page are GOONS originals built that way; they do not reproduce traditional pieces such as Nhemamusasa, which belong to their players and their teachers.
The mbira has many cousins in Africa. Try the 17-key kalimba, the modern thumb piano with number tabs, or the wooden balafon of West Africa, which buzzes over its gourds too, and find every instrument on the world music studio map.
Yes. The mbira at the top of this page is free, with no account and nothing to install. It runs in your browser with the Web Audio API and loads one 390 KB sound file.
Yes. Each of the 24 keys is a recording of a real mbira dzaVadzimu in nyamaropa tuning from the Versilian Community Sample Library, released under CC0. The buzz of the deze and the gourd resonance are added live and can be switched off.
The two interlocking parts of mbira music. The kushaura leads and sets out the piece; the kutsinhira fits its notes between those of the kushaura. Together they make the dense, shimmering texture of the mbira.
The row and the position of each key, counted from the centre: B for the bass row and L for the middle row on the left, R for the high row on the right. Mbira teachers use several numbering systems; this one simply follows the rows of this instrument.
No. Sunrise, River and Market are GOONS originals in the form of mbira music, a 48-pulse cycle with a kushaura and a kutsinhira. Traditional pieces are best learned from Zimbabwean players and teachers.
The mbira is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds a looper, synths, drum machines and a sequencer that play together - free for 7 days, no card required.
Free on this page, no account. Play the online kalimba →