The Shona

While listening to the excerpts from the chapter, one piece stood out as a bit more unique from the others. This piece did not use rhythmic percussion under singing like the others, rather approached with a more percussive melodic instrumentation, the thumb piano from the Shona piece, Nhemamusasa. It did not seem like a piece that would be found in African music, but more a piece that borderlines a tune that would be used in a pop song. I had heard instruments similar to it used in many songs ranging from electronic music like Magnetic Man to Jamaican music. I even have one in my collection of instruments and love to twiddle on it.

It really would only make sense that the instrument hails from African roots, as Jamaica is largely inhabited by an African American population. But perhaps hearing it in an album by an electronic band before hearing it in Nhemamusasa had altered my view on the instrument and it’s origins. It seemed like it would be a melody used in a pop song or children’s tune more than a traditional African piece. The melody is very organized in triads in this piece, and the plucking of the keys gives it the rhythm instead of a drum following along. As the other mbira, or thumb piano, joins in the melody becomes even more scattered and upbeat. The hosho, or rattles, were the last to join in, solidifying the beat under the plucked rhythm of the mbira. This further validated that the mbira created the rhythm along with the melody, differentiating Nhemamusasa from the other selections.