by SIM-MBIRA
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-SIM-MBIRA_(32) ( 35.6 MB )
Quilcom-SIM-MBIRA_(64) ( 21.4 MB )