Kisanji is the name given to the

lamellaphone A lamellophone (also lamellaphone or linguaphone) is a member of the family of musical instruments that makes its sound by a thin vibrating plate called a lamella or tongue, which is fixed at one end and has the other end free. When the musician ...

of the Ngala-speaking people of western

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and eastern

Congo Republic The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. It is also known as

Ikembe Ikembe, is a type of musical instrument of the lamellaphone group, common amongst the people of Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. The instrument consists of several iron lamellae, fixed to a rectangular wooden soundbox. In Swahili the word imb ...

, Chisanji, Eleke or sanza, and is played by holding the instrument in both hands and plucking the keys with the thumbs. The pitch of each metal key is determined by the width of the key. Most often the placement of the keys is

symmetrical Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

, with the lowest keys in the middle and the higher keys on each end of the instrument. The most common tuning is the

pentatonic scale A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancien ...

without semitones, for example ''do re mi sol la'', which varies by region. The music played on the sanza is

polyrhythmic Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...

with overlapping rhythms. The instrument is often used to accompany the voice, to great effect. The keys are attached to a sounding board by metal strips or wires and placed over a

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

or clay

resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...

of varying sizes. The number of keys varies by region, as well. Within each region the instrument can take on a variety of shapes. The sanza in the accompanying photo has a resonator made from a turtle shell that has been attached to the sounding board with natural fibers.

References

{{reflist *Osborne, Eddi
''thumb piano nomenclature''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110728072133/http://www.superstarbrassband.org/local_musical_instruments.pdf Musical Instrument Literature Zone

External links

* ttp://www.usd.edu/smm/Africa/1242/Sansa1242.html Sansalocated at

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

, originating in Loango

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

.
Tyitanzi
located at

, originating in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. Comb lamellophones Democratic Republic of the Congo musical instruments Articles containing video clips

See also

References

External links