Malimba is a xylophone. Its structure and sound are very different from ordinary European xylophone. The piano board used in it is softer than mahogany, with wide pronunciation, low range and long aftertaste. Under each piano board, there are all kinds of songs made of fruit shells, gourds or cans, rectangular wooden cases, etc. The size and length of these songs are suitable for the corresponding piano board. Each singer has 1-2 holes, which are covered with bamboo film, egg film, cotton paper or animal urine bubbles. When playing, the sound spreads from the piano board to the thin desert on the singing body and hole, which sounds buzzing and produces special singing effect. Under the marimba board used by Mexican National Dance Troupe, there is a rectangular conical wooden pipe as a singing body, and there is a hole at the lower end of the cone, and a reed film is attached to the hole, which shows that the Malimba xylophone in Latin America still maintains the African tradition.

structure

Malimba has various shapes. There are three main styles in Africa. One is to put the piano board on a pit or a clay pot, the other is to arrange the piano board on two logs, and the other is to fix the piano board on a frame with a gourd hanging on it. The game is to sit on the ground or hang it on your body, and usually hit it with a stick with a rubber on your head.

develop

1894, Guatemalan musician Tado imitated the arrangement of piano keys, and added a semitone piano board for Malimba, which made his semitone timbre complete and convenient for playing new works. Later, Mexico created the high-pitched Malimba and the large-scale Malimba. The former has 50 piano boards with a range of 5 octaves, played by 3 people, while the latter has 78 piano boards with a range of 6 and a half octaves, played by 4 people. The main melody melody player holds two hammers left and right, and the others hold one hammer. The timbre is great and the sound effect is good.

[Edit this paragraph] Historical review

origin

Malimba was originally named Marinbra. The oldest marimba has only a few soundboards, which were then called drums. Dig a hole in the ground in advance, put the soundboard on it, and the player sits on the ground and beats the soundboard with two hammers. Although this primitive Malimba has a certain pitch, it can't play music and can only be used to beat the rhythm. Later, there appeared the Malimba with the whole tone key, and the scale in C major was complete. Because this Malimba has no semitone, it should be adjusted at any time according to the mode of the music when the tonality changes, which brings great inconvenience to the performer. With the appearance of semitone, Malimba's pronunciation is as intact as a piano, and he can play music in different modes. The appearance of semitone is a great leap in the history of Malimba's development.

Important improvement

The most representative of ancient Malimba is Hulu Malimba, which perfectly embodies Malimba's acoustics, has been circulated for a long time and is widely loved. The so-called gourd Malimba is to hang the whole gourd of different sizes under the keyboard-shaped pronunciation lath, and paste a layer of solid film on the opening above the gourd. It is said that this film is made of spider eggs and can make a special sound. Later, the gourd buzzer was replaced by the scientific wooden box buzzer, and there was a box-type Malimba. Box-type Malimba's buzzer is made of wooden materials in the shape of a pyramid, with the top at the bottom and the opening at the top. In the 1920s, Americans reformed the box-type Malimba, and made a buzzer with a metal tube, thus producing a tubular Malimba. Ancient Malimba was widely distributed in some remote mountain villages, tribes and towns in Africa and Asia. Influenced by the region and national culture, Malimba is colorful and diverse. In addition to the types mentioned above, there are Malimba with elephant feet, Malimba with elephant trunk, Malimba with table and so on.

manufacture

The production of Malimba is considered to be the most difficult one in musical instrument manufacturing, which requires not only the producer with good technology and rich experience, but also good knowledge of material selection. The production of Malimba requires high-quality mahogany, and the choice of wood is very harsh. At present, there are few trees in the world that can make Malimba, and the distribution range is very narrow. With the popularity of Malimba, the production of Malimba has become an industry in some countries, and many Malimba masters have emerged. There's a Malimba in Guatemala. From 199 1 to 1935, * * produced 338 sets of Malimba, with an average annual production of 14~ 15 sets, and exported to the United States, Germany, France and other countries. At that time, Malimba made in Guatemala was very famous, which provided a model for other countries to make Malimba.

extensive use

Early Malimba was used to accompany songs and dances and played in rural, tribal and religious ceremonies. In Africa, it is used in pop music, dance music and sometimes classical music. Malimba was first used in orchestral music when he played Dance of Death in 1874. At that time, it was also used as a solo instrument in circuses and concert halls. With the rise of Malimba's status and self-improvement, its application and repertoire are increasingly extensive. Today, Malimba is mainly used for concerts, while Malimba exists in orchestras, military bands and various bands. Many composers composed music for Malimba, including orchestral concertos. More importantly, Malimba can play solo, or several people can form an ensemble, or form a Malimba ensemble. In addition, the cooperation effect with other percussion instruments is comparable to that of big bands. At present, there are countless Malimba orchestras and percussion orchestras in the world. It can be said that Malimba is in a leading position in the field of percussion. Malimba and Muqin belong to the same family. Muqin has a narrow range, a high range and a crisp and bright timbre, while Malimba has a very wide range, a mellow timbre and a long duration. The largest Malimba has nearly six musical ranges, with a length of more than 3 meters. A Malimba can be played by up to four people at the same time. It is very important for Malimba to produce a good timbre. Without a good mallet, there would be no charming timbre of Malimba. Today, there are dozens of mallets used in Malimba's performance. The round head of the mallet is made of resin and rubber, and the round head is wound into a ball with silk thread and wool, and the hardness varies greatly. Therefore, performers should be chosen strictly according to the performance content and voice distribution of their works.