The marímbula () is a plucked box musical instrument of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. In Cuba it is common in the

changüí ''Changüí'' is a style of Cuban music which originated in the early 19th century in the eastern region of Guantánamo Province, specifically Baracoa. It arose in the sugar cane refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves. ''C ...

genre, as well as old styles of son. In Mexico, where it is known as marimbol is played in son jarocho; in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, where it is known as marimba, it is played in merengue típico, and in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

it is known as rumba box and played in

mento Mento is a style of Music of Jamaica, Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

. The marímbula is usually classified as part of the

lamellophone 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 ...

family of musical instruments. Unlike typical African lamellophones, such as the

mbira Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal Tine (structural), tines, played by holding the instrument ...

, used to produce complex polyphony and polyrhythms, the marimbula usually plays the role of a

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, i.e. providing the

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

ic and

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

support for a band, although it can produce a simple melody as well. Designs of marimbulas vary greatly, in terms of the material of resonator, the number and arrangement of keys, the overall arrangement and size of the instrument and the way it is played.

Characteristics

It consists of a

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

with a sound hole cut in the center of it. Across this hole, a number of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

strips are attached at one end to the resonating box. These metal strips are tuned to different pitches, and are plucked to produce a

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

for the music.

History

With its roots in African instruments, the marimbula originated in the province of Oriente,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, in the 19th century. Eventually it spread throughout the

, the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, from

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

to the Congo. By the 1930s it had made its way to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, the

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, other Caribbean islands,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and as far away as

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The Cubans call it ''marímbula'', and most of the other Caribbean countries have adopted this name or some variant of it: ''marimba'', ''malimba'', ''manimba'', ''marimbol''. The instrument has a number of other names, such as marímbola (

), bass box, ''calimba'' (''calymba''), rhumba box, Church & Clap, Jazz Jim or Lazy Bass (

), and box lamellophone. : African slaves of the Caribbean made musical instruments from whatever stray material they could lay their hands on. Early marimbulas were made from discarded wooden packing crates, with tongues (keys) made of springy wood, bamboo, old hack-saw blades, all kinds of discarded springs, etc. The musician sits on top of the box reaching down to pluck the tongues whilst slapping the sides of the box like a drum. The instrument's evolution and playing style is similar to the cajon box drum. This instrument was very important in the development of Afro-Cuban music as it was one of the basic instruments played by

musicians. Both changüí and son genres developed as a result of the combination of African and Spanish musical styles and instrumentation. Thus, changüí musicians still play a pair of tack-head bongos, marímbula, a pair of

maraca A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s, güiro, and

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * ''Tres'' (2014 film), a Filipino anthology drama film based on short stories * "Tres" (song) by Juanes *"Tres", a song by Líbido from thei ...

to accompany the voice of the vocalist and chorus. Most of the above-mentioned instruments are handmade folk instruments, made from locally available materials, as opposed to commercially produced instruments. The oldest surviving recordings of the marímbula in Cuba were made by Terceto Yoyo and

Sexteto Habanero The Sexteto Habanero was a Cuban son sextet founded in 1920 in Havana. It played an important part in the early history of the genre, contributing to its popularization all around Cuba. In 1927, the band incorporated a cornet player becoming the ...

in 1925. This was one of the many instruments imported from the Americas to Africa, which continue to be played to this day, in various forms and styles, particularly in the countries of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The marímbula became quite popular in Jamaica in conjunction with

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, maracas, and vocals in the churches, where it was known as church and clap, in nightclubs where it was known as jazz jim, and among the various hotel performers, who played

music. It can still be found in use by mento musicians such as The Jolly Boys. Currently, the instrument is regaining popularity among

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists and ''

'' players, like Chartwell Dutiro and The Jolly Boys.

References

* *

External links

Photos of marimbulasModern marimbula workshopAnother page on the marimbula with examplesVideo of Cuban musicians playing Changui
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marimbula Comb lamellophones Cuban musical instruments Haitian musical instruments Dominican Republic musical instruments Mexican musical instruments Contrabass instruments Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments Jarocho

Characteristics

History

See also

References

External links