Hammered Mbira
A new musical instrument

Don MacLane, Inventor
Interviewed by Bill Troxler
This article first appeared in Mel Bay's erzine Dulcimer Sessions
The origins of most traditional musical instruments are lost in the mists of time. The seminal events that gave us flutes, violins, banjos, dulcimers and other familiar instruments are unknown and unlikely to be discovered. But this is not the case with the newest form of the dulcimer – the hammered mbira. The inventor is known. His purpose is clearly stated. And the voice of the instrument is making itself heard. This article provides an interview with Don MacLane, inventor and builder of the hammered mbira.
About Don MacLane. Few people bring the rich experience of Don MacLane to the craft of building musical instruments. Don holds bachelors and masters degrees in sculpture from Antioch College and the University of Oregon. He trained as a cabinetmaker to make custom hardwood furniture and is also an experienced blacksmith. Don worked for years as a steel fabricator focusing on structural steel, cranes, machinery and pressure vessels. He earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and for twenty years worked on design and development of color printers at Tektronix and Xerox. Since 2006 Don has devoted full time to sculpture, music and the invention of new musical instruments.
BT: Let’s begin with the name of the instrument. What is an mbira?
DM: The name is pronounced em-beer- uh.
The mbira is a melodic instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Throughout Africa there are numerous examples of this type of instrument with many different names. Of all of these instruments, the mbira of the Shona people may be the most complex.
The mbira typically consists of several rows of metal tines clamped to a wooden board. These tines, or keys, produce tones when plucked. The keys are typically hammered from steel wire. Their length, width and thickness are adjusted to achieve the desired pitch and tonal color. The musician strokes the tips of the keys with thumb or fingertips. The wooden platform of the mbira is commonly placed inside a calabash gourd resonator to increase its volume.
BT: Can you describe the hammered mbira?
DM: The hammered mbira is a tuned percussion instrument based on a combination of the African mbira with a hammered dulcimer. Metal rods are clamped in brass bridges that are bolted to a soundboard. The rods are tuned to a diatonic scale and arranged in a note pattern identical to contemporary hammered dulcimers. The hammered mbira is played, in the same way as a hammered dulcimer, by striking the rods with small hammers.
BT: Can you describe the voice of the hammered mbira? Is it anything like a hammer dulcimer?
DM: The voice is unique. Listeners often describe the voice of the hammered mbira as lying somewhere between steel drums and a marimba. It is a happy, engaging sound but shares little in common with the sonic footprint of a hammer dulcimer.
To hear the aggressive voice, of the hammered mbira listen to “Sandy Boys.”
BT: What is the range of the hammered mbira?
DM: The range of standard 12/11 hammer dulcimer would fit exactly within the range of the 13/12 hammered mbira. It is exactly the same set of tones that appears on the upper end of a D-500 Dusty Strings hammer dulcimer.
BT: How do you tune the hammered mbira?
DM: Tuning is accomplished by moving and then securing small weights located near the end of the rods. This is done at the end of construction using a strobe tuner. Unless the weights shift position, no further tuning adjustment should be required.
BT: Does the hammered mbira use different hammers than the hammer dulcimer?
DM: Since the tonal color is strongly influenced by the weight and density of the hammers, I supply two sets of playing hammers with different head weights, and hardness. A hard wooden-face hammer, like you might use playing hammer dulcimer in a dance band, produces a shrill, unpleasant, clattering sound on the hammered mbira. Players have experimented with different surface material. I know that Ken Kolodner and Bill Troxler both use Dr. Scholl’s thick moleskin on their hammers.
BT: What materials go into a hammered mbira?
DM: Stainless steel rods spaced at 1.125" are the sounding element of the instrument. Each has a small weight near their end. The bars are clamped in polished brass bridges. The bridges are bolted to the soundboard with padauk riser blocks. The trapezoidal soundboard is made of Sitka spruce.
BT: What motivated you to invent the hammered mbira?
DM: I spent a lot of time traveling and needed an instrument that was easy to carry along. Small, tough and with very stable tuning, the mbira seemed the ideal musical instrument for a traveler. Since I wanted to be able to maintain my skill on the hammered dulcimer, I hit on the idea of laying an mbira out in the form of a hammered dulcimer and using hammers to strike the keys. The strings were replaced with steel rods clamped to brass bridges. The lengths of the rods, together with size and position of small brass weights near the ends of the rods, set the tuning. Since those physical attributes are unaffected by humidity and don’t stress the instrument, the tuning is very stable. I ended up with a compact, rugged instrument that I already knew how to play and could travel with easily.
BT: Hammer dulcimers are available in many different models and sizes. Is this also true for the hammered mbira?
DM: I build 8/7, 10/9 and 13/12 versions of the hammered mbira. The “industrial” model 13/12 is a very rugged, soundboard only instrument.
Don MacLane lives near Portland, Oregon.
Visit his website to see his hammered mbiras and kinetic sculpture.
www.donmaclane.com
Interviewed by Bill Troxler
This article first appeared in Mel Bay's erzine Dulcimer Sessions
The origins of most traditional musical instruments are lost in the mists of time. The seminal events that gave us flutes, violins, banjos, dulcimers and other familiar instruments are unknown and unlikely to be discovered. But this is not the case with the newest form of the dulcimer – the hammered mbira. The inventor is known. His purpose is clearly stated. And the voice of the instrument is making itself heard. This article provides an interview with Don MacLane, inventor and builder of the hammered mbira.
About Don MacLane. Few people bring the rich experience of Don MacLane to the craft of building musical instruments. Don holds bachelors and masters degrees in sculpture from Antioch College and the University of Oregon. He trained as a cabinetmaker to make custom hardwood furniture and is also an experienced blacksmith. Don worked for years as a steel fabricator focusing on structural steel, cranes, machinery and pressure vessels. He earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and for twenty years worked on design and development of color printers at Tektronix and Xerox. Since 2006 Don has devoted full time to sculpture, music and the invention of new musical instruments.
BT: Let’s begin with the name of the instrument. What is an mbira?
DM: The name is pronounced em-beer- uh.
The mbira is a melodic instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Throughout Africa there are numerous examples of this type of instrument with many different names. Of all of these instruments, the mbira of the Shona people may be the most complex.
The mbira typically consists of several rows of metal tines clamped to a wooden board. These tines, or keys, produce tones when plucked. The keys are typically hammered from steel wire. Their length, width and thickness are adjusted to achieve the desired pitch and tonal color. The musician strokes the tips of the keys with thumb or fingertips. The wooden platform of the mbira is commonly placed inside a calabash gourd resonator to increase its volume.
BT: Can you describe the hammered mbira?
DM: The hammered mbira is a tuned percussion instrument based on a combination of the African mbira with a hammered dulcimer. Metal rods are clamped in brass bridges that are bolted to a soundboard. The rods are tuned to a diatonic scale and arranged in a note pattern identical to contemporary hammered dulcimers. The hammered mbira is played, in the same way as a hammered dulcimer, by striking the rods with small hammers.
BT: Can you describe the voice of the hammered mbira? Is it anything like a hammer dulcimer?
DM: The voice is unique. Listeners often describe the voice of the hammered mbira as lying somewhere between steel drums and a marimba. It is a happy, engaging sound but shares little in common with the sonic footprint of a hammer dulcimer.
- You can listen to the hammered mbira play two familiar tunes in the sound files that accompany this interview.
To hear the aggressive voice, of the hammered mbira listen to “Sandy Boys.”
BT: What is the range of the hammered mbira?
DM: The range of standard 12/11 hammer dulcimer would fit exactly within the range of the 13/12 hammered mbira. It is exactly the same set of tones that appears on the upper end of a D-500 Dusty Strings hammer dulcimer.
BT: How do you tune the hammered mbira?
DM: Tuning is accomplished by moving and then securing small weights located near the end of the rods. This is done at the end of construction using a strobe tuner. Unless the weights shift position, no further tuning adjustment should be required.
BT: Does the hammered mbira use different hammers than the hammer dulcimer?
DM: Since the tonal color is strongly influenced by the weight and density of the hammers, I supply two sets of playing hammers with different head weights, and hardness. A hard wooden-face hammer, like you might use playing hammer dulcimer in a dance band, produces a shrill, unpleasant, clattering sound on the hammered mbira. Players have experimented with different surface material. I know that Ken Kolodner and Bill Troxler both use Dr. Scholl’s thick moleskin on their hammers.
BT: What materials go into a hammered mbira?
DM: Stainless steel rods spaced at 1.125" are the sounding element of the instrument. Each has a small weight near their end. The bars are clamped in polished brass bridges. The bridges are bolted to the soundboard with padauk riser blocks. The trapezoidal soundboard is made of Sitka spruce.
BT: What motivated you to invent the hammered mbira?
DM: I spent a lot of time traveling and needed an instrument that was easy to carry along. Small, tough and with very stable tuning, the mbira seemed the ideal musical instrument for a traveler. Since I wanted to be able to maintain my skill on the hammered dulcimer, I hit on the idea of laying an mbira out in the form of a hammered dulcimer and using hammers to strike the keys. The strings were replaced with steel rods clamped to brass bridges. The lengths of the rods, together with size and position of small brass weights near the ends of the rods, set the tuning. Since those physical attributes are unaffected by humidity and don’t stress the instrument, the tuning is very stable. I ended up with a compact, rugged instrument that I already knew how to play and could travel with easily.
BT: Hammer dulcimers are available in many different models and sizes. Is this also true for the hammered mbira?
DM: I build 8/7, 10/9 and 13/12 versions of the hammered mbira. The “industrial” model 13/12 is a very rugged, soundboard only instrument.
Don MacLane lives near Portland, Oregon.
Visit his website to see his hammered mbiras and kinetic sculpture.
www.donmaclane.com