Lamellophone

What are lamellophones?

Lamellophones (also known as lamellophones or linguaphones) are a group of musical instruments that are widely used in traditional music in sub-Saharan Africa. These instruments consist of several lamellas that are attached to a board or resonance box and are plucked with the fingers. The sound is produced by a thin vibrating plate called a lamella or tongue. This tongue is fixed at one end and free at the other.

When the musician presses on the free end of the tongue with a finger or fingernail and releases the finger again, the exposed tongue vibrates. An instrument can have a single tongue (e.g. jew’s harp) or several tongues (e.g. mbira). Lamellophones have different names and shapes depending on the region and culture.

Linguaphone is derived from the Latin word lingua for “tongue”, lamellophone from the Latin word lamella for “metal plate” and the Greek word phonē for “sound, voice”. The lamellophones form category 12 of the Hornbostel-Sachs system for the classification of musical instruments, the plucked idiophones . These can be divided into two main categories: those with frames ( jew’s harps 121) and those with a comb(lamellophones, 122).

Materials and construction

Most lamellophones have lamellae made of iron. In Central Africa there are also types with lamellae made from the leaf stalk of raffia palms, such as the Timbrh in Cameroon, or with bamboo lamellae. The name Mbira or Mbila is used in several Bantu languages for various lamellophones in southern Africa.

Mood and playing style

The notes of the lamellophones can be tuned by sliding the slats back and forth. In principle, tuning to any tone system is possible. In practice, however, tuning is done in intervals rather than in steps of a scale. In a diatonic scale, for example, the notes are arranged alternately to the right and left of the long middle lamella. If you pluck two adjacent slats, you will hear a consonant third, if you pluck three slats, you will hear a triad and so on. In free playing, second dissonances can usually only be produced by plucking a left and a right lamella, which is why lamellophones often sound consonant.

History and diversity

A large number of lamellophones originate from Africa, where they are known by various names such as mbira, kisanji, likembe, kalimba, kongoma and sanza. They play an important role in the music of South East Africa. They were mentioned as early as the 16th century, but undoubtedly have a much longer history. The Caribbean marímbula also belongs to this family. The marímbula can be seen as a bass version of the mbira and is sometimes used in hip-hop -music.

In most cases, the reeds are divided into two playing halves, with the lowest notes in the middle; from there, each reed is tuned higher to the left and right than the previous one. The reeds can also be arranged linearly as in a piano. The reeds can be made so small that they can be played with single fingers, hence the colloquial name “thumb piano”. (However, some instruments such as the mbira have additional rows of reeds so that not only the thumbs are used for plucking).

It is assumed that African lamellophones are derived from xylophones and marimbas. However, similar instruments have also been found elsewhere; for example, the indigenous people of Siberia play wooden and metal lamellophones with a single tongue. Lamellophones can be built with or without a resonator. There are also electric lamellophones with an additional pickup.