Cool Stuff: Sub-Saharan Africa by Zelena Hull

 I think the mbira is very interesting and wanted to know more about why it’s named different names. It's been all over Africa, but it is primarily played in Zimbabwe. There’s something very delicate and accessible about this instrument that makes it very appealing. It’s played in such an interesting way and the bottle caps added for buzz just make it fun. I like how it's a plucked idiophone and it sounds so different than your average chordophone. Evidently the instrument has so many names because each tribe would change the name to suit their native language. There are certain common carry overs between some of the related languages, but enough differences to change the name according on the tribe’s language. The stem was usually kept, but the prefix was different. That’s why some of the alternate names for it usually have -Limba or -Kembe as a prefix at the end. I also found a ton of other names for the instrument in the article that I found on J Store. 

I thought this video was interesting. They also talk about spiritual stuff, but I came for the mbira making. 

I also wanted to know more about the male singing groups in South Africa and what was the most famous one. The most famous group was called the Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This group even inspired Paul Simon. The group was created in the 1960’s in South Africa out of the isicathamiya tradition. These were male groups that sang Capello. This tradition started on the British mining facilities as a way to pass the time and have fun. The groups founder was in fact a miner. The group had become so tight in their singing arrangements that they were barred from competitions. The group shorty after in the 1970’s got a recording contract and currently have out 50 or more recordings. In the 80’s the group had become the most famous musical group in South Africa. Paul Simon produced their first world wide release and the group since then has been nominated for 15 Grammys and won 2. The group has recorded with countless big names in western music since then. I had gotten the information about the group off their website.  

This is a video of their performance with Paul Simon.

Lastly, I wanted to know more about the Kora. This instrument is sort of like a harp and has 21 strings. The bodies are often made out of calabash gourds, but not always. The instrument was to have said been originated out of the Gabu empire during the 18^th century. This empire was located in southern modern-day Gambia and Senegal. The neck of the instrument is often made out of rose wood. This instrument also incorporates cow or antelope hide as the sound table, tuning rings, and strings. It’s amazing how anyone can tune this thing. Now the tunings rings have been replaced by western tuning pegs. Their also used to be a nuenyemo (metal thingy) to add buzz to the instrument, but it has since disappeared. The strings even used to be made out of hide! That’s amazing that someone figured out how to do that to leather. The strings are now made out of fishing line, which sounds awesome! I got the information about the Kora here.

I found a video of a guy playing with an accompanying guitar. It's really a good pairing.