The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. The Family of the Mbira THE EVIDENCE OF THE TUNING PLANS A. Tracey International Library of African Music, Roodeport INTRODUCTION ment, the method of sound production or any other constructional feature, but the tuning About twelve major types of mbira are plan. Most mbira tuning plans are more or less played at the present day by the peoples of irregular, in the sense that the notes of the the central and lower Zambezi valley and en- scale are not necessarily positioned next to virons. I would like to present some evidence each other, as they would be, for instance, on to show that, in this large part of Africa at a piano or on most African xylophones. It is least, all these types are related, and further by tracing several significant 'irregular' tuning that several lines of descent can be postulated plans that we have been able to come to which point back to one common progenitor. these conclusions. The area in question (see map) comprises Irregularities in tuning plans can be com- most of Rhodesia, central Mozambique, south- pared to non-functional components of material ern and eastern Zambia, together with parts of objects, such as decoration, which may be southern Malawi, southern Mocambique and transmitted unchanged from one culture to northern Transvaal, or to put it more simply, another, the original function or symbolism much of the lower Zambezi basin, with a spill becoming lost in the process. Tuning plans are over towards the south. generated by musical concepts or needs. Never- theless, one generally finds that an mbira tuning The mbiras found in this area exhibit a plan is adopted lock, stock and barrel, whether great variety in appearance, manner of con- or not its special characteristics fill the same struction, tone quality and musical technique. need as in the music of the originating group. Distribution maps could be drawn for each Some of the irregularities that we shall be of these factors which would not reveal an over- following then become merely a vestigial all relationship. However, if one focuses on historical trace that links a type of mbira with one factor alone, namely the arrangement of its antecedent, but does not necessarily have the notes on the keyboard, or 'tuning plan', con- any significance in the music of the people sistent relationships can be established, which using it. also concord with African nomenclature. Afri- can musicians are completely decided on the I should add that I have been considerably names of the various types of mbiras. What is assisted in my research by the ability to play significant to them in this respect is not prim- most of the mbira types under discussion, and arily the number of reeds, or keys, on the instru- thus to form an idea of what is actually of 1 * *• musical or motor-pattern significance, and what Diagram 1 presents in simplified form the seems 'irregular' and should therefore be family relationships of the mbiras under dis- >• % attributed to other sources, historical, social cussion; their geographical distribution and or personal. Secondly, I am not concerned with supplementary description is shown in the establishing a time scale, but rather a series map and its subtitles. Diagrams 2-4 present in of relationships among the mbiras of this area. graphic form the actual tuning plans on which On considering these relationships it becomes this study is based. For present purposes we obvious that their development could only do not need to follow the steps in detail; readers have occurred in one direction, from simple to who are interested may find it more fully des- A i- more complex. One does not need to assume cribed in Tracey (1972). Here it will be suffi- this to start with, although it is also, of course, cient to point out the main points of similarity a perfectly sound ethnographic principle. It has among the members of the three lines or been seriously suggested to me by an ethno- families of mbiras. musicologist, that the development took place in the other direction. On the basis of this THE FAMILY OF THE KALIMBA evidence this seems to me impossible; however, we are trying to retrieve a historical process The present-day kalimba is played over a from the evidence of present-day artifacts, wide area, mostly north of the Zambezi. which is always a risky business. Usually there are added notes, bent up to form an upper rank, or manual, in the manner of Nevertheless what I have observed of the Nsenga kalimba illustrated. On the south present-day African musicians is a general bank the kalimbalkarimba name is retained, tendency among leading musicians and instru- but the instrument is considerably enlarged, ment makers to add notes and increase the size giving a foretaste of the further enlargements of their mbiras. Many inventive variants of and transformations other south-bank mbiras the basic tuning plans are produced in this way, have undergone. The original kalimba 'core' a process similar to that which must have led tuning plan is shown in black, to show how it up to the currently existing mbira types. remains embodied in the subsequent tuning plans of this family. The njari, already an in- Similarly in the matter of the so-called dependent instrument from the kalimba, makes 'Africanisation' of foreign musical traits, I its additions in its own way, the most significant have noticed that many musicians, on being being the enlargement of the bass section for exposed to a new foreign musical instrument, the left thumb. The njari huru, or 'big njari', whether from another part of Africa, or West- is just that — the bass section is further en- ern, will immediately play it, applying motor, larged, and the right hand rank is extended by rhythmic or melodic patterns to it which they five more notes. already know. They are keen to accept innova- tions in musical instruments, providing they are The dipila is included here tentatively, as I capable of expressing their own musical langu- do not have conclusive evidence for its mem- age. In common with musicians the world over, bership in the kalimba family. However, they are rarely interested in learning the allowing for the fact that it is pentatonic, its original, foreign musical idiom of the instru- tuning plan is strikingly similar to that of the ment. This is why the kalimba, for instance, kalimba. The black notes here represent the from the north side of the Zambezi, and the basic form of the instrument, as acknowledged karimba, from the south side (roughly speak- by dipila players; the white notes are optional. ing), which are identical except in matter of size, can sound so completely different. Similar- A note on the numbering system used —• ly, in organological terms, when a new type the numbers 1 to 7 indicate the seven notes of of mbira is adopted, the significant adoption is the heptatonic scales used on most of the the tuning plan; other details of construction mbiras in our area; 1 to 6, respectively, if the will usually continue to be based on those of scale is hexatonic (for instance the mbira dza the local mbira type, such as the shape and vaNdau, Diagram 4), and 1 to 5 for the only size of body, profile of the reeds, attachment pentatonic instrument in the area, the dipila. of bridge, bar and backrest, method of effect- That is, the heavy black lines are an octave ing buzz-tone, and choice of resonating body. apart, divided respectively into 5, 6 or 7 inter- i i vals. This numbering system does not show THE FAMILY OF THE NDIMBA tonal, intonational or musical importance of notes, but it is carried through all the diagrams This family differs from the others in that to facilitate comparison between the different the reeds are largely arranged with the deep tuning plans. notes on the left and high notes on the right. Thus the inherent irregularity of the kalimba, which has been our guide, is largely destroyed. THE FAMILY OF MBIRA DZAVADZIMU My argument for its inclusion in the kalimba The mbira dzavadzimu and mbila deza, family rests mainly on small pieces of evidence. probably the older members of this family, The kalimba and the ndimba types are played embody the kalimba core in the centre of their in several of the same localities to the north keyboard, completely intact but for the fact of the Zambezi, with the indication that there that it is left-right reversed. Again the black is a progression from the first to the second; notes show the kalimba core. The major addi- the kalimba. is used by 'amateurs', the ndimba tion in these two instruments is the new low by 'professionals'. Further, the pitches of the section for the left hand, in octaves below the notes used are the same in both instruments. 7-6-5-1 of the kalimba core. The note no. 4, It seems entirely probable that the ndimba whose irregular position was one of the sparks results from a deliberate change-over from the for this investigation, has been inserted here kalimba, although one must allow the possi- in yet a different position than the two positions bility of the reverse process. The evidence of found in the karimba-njari family already dis- xylophone tuning plans, such as that of the Lozi silimba, may have something to add here.