The Hammered Mbira

The Hammered Mbira
An Evolutionary Step
of the Hammer Dulcimer
Don MacLane, Inventor
Interviewed by Bill Troxler
The origins of most traditional musical
instruments are lost in the mists of time.
The seminal events that gave us flutes,
violins, banjos, dulcimers and other familiar
instruments are unknown and unlikely to be
discovered. But this is not the case with the
newest form of the dulcimer – the
hammered mbira. The inventor is known.
His purpose is clearly stated. And the voice
of the instrument is making itself heard.
This article provides an interview with Don
MacLane, inventor and builder of the
hammered mbira.
About Don MacLane. Few people bring
the rich experience of Don MacLane to the
craft of building musical instruments. Don
holds bachelors and masters degrees in
sculpture from Antioch College and the University of Oregon. He trained as a cabinetmaker to
make custom hardwood furniture and is also an experienced blacksmith. Don worked for years
as a steel fabricator focusing on structural steel, cranes, machinery and pressure vessels. He
earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and for twenty years worked on design
and development of color printers at Tektronix and Xerox. Since 2006 Don has devoted full time
to sculpture, music and the invention of new musical instruments.
BT: Let’s begin with the name of the instrument. What is an mbira?
DM: The name is pronounced em-beer- uh.
The mbira is a melodic instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Throughout Africa there
are numerous examples of this type of instrument with many different names. Of all of these
instruments, the mbira of the Shona people may be the most complex.
The mbira typically consists of several rows of metal tines clamped to a wooden board. These
tines, or keys, produce tones when plucked. The keys are typically hammered from steel wire.
Their length, width and thickness are adjusted to achieve the desired pitch and tonal color. The
musician strokes the tips of the keys with thumb or fingertips. The wooden platform of the mbira
is commonly placed inside a calabash gourd resonator to increase its volume.

BT: Can you describe the hammered mbira?
DM: The hammered mbira is a tuned percussion instrument based on a combination of the
African mbira with a hammered dulcimer. Metal rods are clamped in brass bridges that are
bolted to a soundboard. The rods are tuned to a diatonic scale and arranged in a note pattern
identical to contemporary hammered dulcimers. The hammered mbira is played, in the same
way as a hammered dulcimer, by striking the rods with small hammers.
BT: Can you describe the voice of the hammered mbira? Is it anything like a hammer
dulcimer?
DM: The voice is unique. Listeners often describe the voice of the hammered mbira as lying
somewhere between steel drums and a marimba. It is a happy, engaging sound but shares little
in common with the sonic footprint of a hammer dulcimer.
You can listen to the hammered mbira play two familiar tunes in the sound files that accompany
this interview.
To hear the instrument’s lyrical voice, listen to “Sí Bheg Sí Mhor.”
To hear the aggressive voice, of the hammered mbira listen to “Sandy Boys.”
BT: What is the range of the hammered mbira?
DM: The range of standard 12/11 hammer dulcimer would fit exactly within the range of the
13/12 hammered mbira. It is exactly the same set of tones that appears on the upper end of a
D-500 Dusty Strings hammer dulcimer.
BT: How do you tune the hammered mbira?

DM: Tuning is accomplished by moving and then securing small weights located near the end of
the rods. This is done at the end of construction using a strobe tuner. Unless the weights shift
position, no further tuning adjustment should be required.
BT: Does the hammered mbira use different
hammers than the hammer dulcimer?
DM: Since the tonal color is strongly influenced by
the weight and density of the hammers, I supply
two sets of playing hammers with different head
weights, and hardness. A hard wooden-face
hammer, like you might use playing hammer
dulcimer in a dance band, produces a shrill,
unpleasant, clattering sound on the hammered
mbira. Players have experimented with different
surface material. I know that Ken Kolodner and Bill
Troxler both use Dr. Scholl’s thick moleskin on
their hammers.
BT: What materials go into a hammered
mbira?
DM: Stainless steel rods spaced at 1.125" are the
sounding element of the instrument. Each has a
small weight near their end. The bars are clamped
in polished brass bridges. The bridges are bolted to
the soundboard with padauk riser blocks. The
trapezoidal soundboard is made of Sitka spruce.
BT: What motivated you to invent the
hammered mbira?
DM: I spent a lot of time traveling and needed an
instrument that was easy to carry along. Small, tough and with very stable tuning, the mbira
seemed the ideal musical instrument for a traveler. Since I wanted to be able to maintain my
skill on the hammered dulcimer, I hit on the idea of laying an mbira out in the form of a
hammered dulcimer and using
hammers to strike the keys. The
strings were replaced with steel
rods clamped to brass bridges.
The lengths of the rods, together
with size and position of small
brass weights near the ends of
the rods, set the
tuning. Since those physical
attributes are unaffected by
humidity and don’t stress the
instrument, the tuning is very
stable. I ended up with a
compact, rugged instrument that
I already knew how to play and
could travel with easily.

BT: Hammer dulcimers are available in many different models and sizes. Is this also
true for the hammered mbira?
DM: I build 8/7, 10/9 and 13/12 versions of the hammered mbira. The “industrial” model 13/12
is a very rugged, soundboard only instrument.
Don MacLane lives near Portland, Oregon.
Visit his website to see his hammered mbiras and sculpture.
www.donmaclane.com
Visit author Bill Troxler’s website. www.billtroxler.com