Lamellaphone is a family of musical instruments. The name comes from Latin "lamella", "plate" and Greek root "phone" for "sound". The name derives from the way the sound is produced: thin plates, or "tongues" are fixed at one end, while the other end if free. When a musicial presses the free end by a finger, it slips off, and the relased plate vibrates. A tongue may be plucked either from the top or from the bottom.
A large number of lamellaphones originate in Africa, where they are known under the names sanza, kisanji, likembe, mbira, mbila, kalimba. They were reported as early as in the 16th century, but there is no doubt they have much earlier history. Caribbean marimbula is also of this family.
The togues may be aranged in the manner of piano and may be made small enough, hence its colloquial name "thumb piano".
Some conjecture that African lamellaphones were derived from xylophones and marimbas. On the other hand, e.g., indigenous peoples of Siberia know primitive wooden and metallic lamellaphones with a single tongue.
Lamellaphones may be made with or without resonators.
Board-mounted lamellaphones are often played inside gourds or bowls for increased resonance, and the timbre may be modified by attaching rattling devices to the board or resonator or by attaching metal cuffs at the base of the tongues.
The lamellaphone is often classified as a plucked idiophone, i.e., and an instrument whose sounding parts are resonant solids.
The lamellaphone is commonly played as an accompaniment to song, but in some areas, it is used for purely instrumental music.
Lamellaphones are a category of plucked idiophones; included in this category are the African "thumb-pianos" described below, as well as the various forms of Jew's Harp and the European mechanical music box.
The tongues may be arranged in the manner of a piano and may be made small enough to play with individual fingers, hence the colloquial name "thumb piano".
Some conjecture that African lamellaphones were derived from xylophones and marimbas.
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