Marimbula

Marímbula (not to be confused with marimba), pronounced as "mah-REAM-boo-lah", is a folk musical instrument of Caribbean Islands. With its roots in African instruments, marimbula orginated in the province of Oriente, Cuba in 19th century. Eventually it made it way to the whole Caribbean and further to the Americas. Marimbula is associated with the Son music of Cuba.

The instrument has a number of other names, such as bass kalimba, rumba-box, box lamellaphone. Musicologists classify it to the lamellaphone family: the sound of marimbula is produced by plucking the free ends of springy plates ("tongues" or keys) attached by one end to a resonator box.

African slaves of Caribbean made musical instruments from whatever stray material they could lay their hands on. Early marimbulas were made from discarded wooden package cases, with tongues (keys) made of springy wood, bamboo, old knive blades, all kinds of disarded springs, etc. A musician would sit on top of the box reaching down to pluck the tongues.

Designs of marimbulas vary greatly, in terms of the material of resonator, the number and arrangement of keys, the overall arrrangement and size of the instrument and the way it played.

Unlike original African lamellaphones used to produce complex polyphony and polyrhythms, marimbula basically plays the role of a bass guitar, to provide the rhythmic and harmonic support for a band, although it can produce a simple melody as well.

It is fairly easy to learn to play marimbula, especially for those who has a grasp of some other musical instrument, since no intricate technique is involved.