size 35 MB  / 21 MB

SIM-MBIRA is a plugin designed to simulate an African Mbira and the westernised version called a Kalimba.

The instrument is sometimes referred to as a “thumb piano” based on the way it’s held in the hands and played by flicking the tines with the thumb nails and sometimes an index finger.

Mbiras produce a rattling or buzzing sound generated by objects attached loosely to the sound board/box and mounted on a metal plate. These “rattlers” were traditionally shells but are now often bottle caps or beads. Sometimes the Mbira is wedged inside a large dried and hollowed gourd housing to act as a resonating chamber..

Kalimbas don’t use rattlers and feature either a solid sound board or a hollow box to amplify and sustain the sound.

quilcom

Quilcom-SIM-MBIRA_(32)  ( 35.6 MB )

Quilcom-SIM-MBIRA_(64)  ( 21.4 MB )