Illustration of mbira
: an African musical instrument that consists of a wooden or gourd resonator and a varying number of tuned metal or wooden strips that vibrate when plucked
Examples of mbira in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Muted guitars twirl in curlicued shapes, fleshed out by harp, woodwinds, and brass; clanking bells and mbira-like harmonics flare up in quiet patches, and background vocals fan across the stereo field.
—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
19 May 2026
But what really stands out in this cubicle is a sound installation of mbira music.
—
Percy Zvomuya,
Artforum,
1 Nov. 2024
In the early eighties, Laraaji was experimenting with the kalimba, an iteration of the Zimbabwean mbira, a wooden board with staggered metal tines, designed to be played with the thumbs.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
The New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2023
Enjoy a relaxing, pretty tune in a relaxing, pretty place, played on the kalimba, an instrument based on the mbira, a traditional African finger harp.
—
Aj Willingham,
CNN,
15 May 2020
Zimdancehall was one of the emergent new genres — a local spinoff of Jamaican dancehall that used Shona instead of Jamaican English, and sometimes incorporated the mbira, a metal keyboard closely associated with traditional Zimbabwean music.
—
New York Times,
7 Sep. 2019
The mbira consists of a set of steel tines suspended over a sound box.
—
Chris Lee,
Ars Technica,
17 Sep. 2018
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Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
19 May 2026
But what really stands out in this cubicle is a sound installation of mbira music.
—
Percy Zvomuya,
Artforum,
1 Nov. 2024
In the early eighties, Laraaji was experimenting with the kalimba, an iteration of the Zimbabwean mbira, a wooden board with staggered metal tines, designed to be played with the thumbs.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
The New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2023
Enjoy a relaxing, pretty tune in a relaxing, pretty place, played on the kalimba, an instrument based on the mbira, a traditional African finger harp.
—
Aj Willingham,
CNN,
15 May 2020
Zimdancehall was one of the emergent new genres — a local spinoff of Jamaican dancehall that used Shona instead of Jamaican English, and sometimes incorporated the mbira, a metal keyboard closely associated with traditional Zimbabwean music.
—
New York Times,
7 Sep. 2019
The mbira consists of a set of steel tines suspended over a sound box.
—
Chris Lee,
Ars Technica,
17 Sep. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Mbira.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mbira. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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