The ilimba is a
lamellophone
A lamellophone (also lamellaphone or linguaphone) is a member of the family of musical instruments that makes its sound by a thin vibrating plate called a lamella or tongue, which is fixed at one end and has the other end free. When the musician ...
from
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. It is a traditional instrument of the
Gogo
Go go or Gogo may refer to:
Geography
* Ghogha, India, a town once also known as Gogo
* Gogo, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso, a town
* Gogo, Zoundwéogo, Burkina Faso, a city
* Gogo Department, a department in central Burkina Faso
* Gogo Formatio ...
ethnic group and its most famous player in the 20th century was
Hukwe Zawose
Hukwe Ubi Zawose (1938 or 1940, Dodoma, Tanganyika – December 30, 2003, Bagamoyo, Tanzania) was a prominent Tanzanian musician. He was a member of the Gogo ethnic group and played the ''ilimba'', a large lamellophone similar to the ''mbira'', ...
, who developed a version of the instrument with between 66 and 72 metal key
The instrument is similar to the
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
an ''
mbira
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
'' but larger, and is tuned to intervals derived from the
overtone series
A harmonic series (also overtone series) is the sequence of harmonics, musical tones, or pure tones whose frequency is an integer multiple of a '' fundamental frequency''.
Pitched musical instruments are often based on an acoustic resonator ...
.
See also
*
Lamellophone
A lamellophone (also lamellaphone or linguaphone) is a member of the family of musical instruments that makes its sound by a thin vibrating plate called a lamella or tongue, which is fixed at one end and has the other end free. When the musician ...
*
Mbira
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
*
Music of Tanzania
As it is in other countries, the music in Tanzania is constantly undergoing changes, and varies by location, people, settings and occasion. The five music genres in Tanzania, as defined by BASATA are, ngoma, dansi, kwaya, and taarab, with b ...
*
Hukwe Zawose
Hukwe Ubi Zawose (1938 or 1940, Dodoma, Tanganyika – December 30, 2003, Bagamoyo, Tanzania) was a prominent Tanzanian musician. He was a member of the Gogo ethnic group and played the ''ilimba'', a large lamellophone similar to the ''mbira'', ...
*
Kalimba
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
External links
"Mbira" by N. Scott Robinson
Comb lamellophones
Tanzanian musical instruments
{{Lamellophone-stub