Thumb piano
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The African thumb piano is a musical instrument, a type of plucked idiophone often classified as a lamellophone, and which is common throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.[citation needed] Thumb pianos in Africa usually consist of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys are attached, occasionally fitted into a resonator.
The instrument is known by different names in different regions of Africa, including Mbira, Mbila, Mbira Huru, Mbira Njari, Mbira Nyunga Nyunga, Marimba, Karimba, Kalimba, Likembe, Okeme, as well as marÃmbula (also called kalimba) in the Caribbean Islands.
The Thumb Piano originated as a personal accompaniment instrument typically used during walking between visits by traveling Griots and is also often played in modern contexts as well as at religious ceremonies and social gatherings.
