loading image
"The Art of the African Instrument" features bells, rattles, harp lutes, drums, slit gongs, and lamellophones or “thumb pianos.” Though small in scale, the lamellophone produces enchanting sounds. Plucked with the thumbs, it consists of a set of wooden or metal keys arranged on a soundboard. According to musicologists, lamellophones fall under the idiophone family of musical instruments. Idiophones create sounds primarily through the vibration of the instrument itself rather than by strings or air flow. Many lamellophones have African origins where they have been played for centuries. They are known by various names in differing countries, such as mbira in Zimbabwe and kasanji in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Special thank you to the Fowler Museum at UCLA for making this exhibition possible. See "The Art of the African Instrument" on display, post-security, in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and online at: https://bit.ly/African-Instruments
This image was posted on August 05, 2024.