Sympathetic Resonances
A free online platform for documenting, learning, and exploring mbira music
Interactive transcriptions
Edit, play back, and visualize mbira patterns in your web browser:
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News
All news »Mbila dzamadeza
12/2022 The mbila dzamadeza from South Africa's Limpopo province is the eighth supported type of mbira on SR.Mbira diversity in rural Mozambique
9/2022 Tatenda Cangola and SR teamed up to give media visibility to kalimba players and makers from the Manica and Tete borderlands. Learn more and join our fundraiser!
Muchatera Mujuru's mbira
9/2022 Added samples and animation for Muchatera Mujuru's historical mbira huru, featuring a left index finger manual.
Mbira dzaVaNdau transcriptions
8/2022 The 20+ transcriptions from Andrew Tracey's recent article The Mbira of the Ndau: Mozambique and Zimbabwe in 1972 are now available on SR.
Microtuning comparison
4/2022 Listen to the same mbira tuned to equi-heptatonic, AMI karimba, Western mixolydian scales, thanks to the help of mbira maker Sebastian Pott.
Tuning repository
| Currently, 100+ tunings of eight mbira types are available. Instrument Gallery » Explore the wonderful diversity of historical and contemporary scales, and use them for tuning your own instruments. Example tuning » |
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Archives accessible
In 2017, we started a project at the International Library of African Music (ILAM) to make the great variety of mbiras and tunings in the Tracey Instrument Collection, as well as Andrew Tracey's extensive personal archive of transcriptions audible and accessible to the world.| Learn more » |
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Your personal library
Sign up to access all available content, and to start a personal archive of transcriptions. It is, and will always be, free of charge. Everything you create is private, unless you decide to share it with other individuals or groups. To date, more than 400 registered users have created over 1200 transcription records (190+ available to all users). How it works »Learning & Inspiration
Get started with each mbira type's traditional repertoire, using the freely available transcriptions. Use the computer-generated playback and instrument visualization for rehearsal at any tempo, and for practicing the intricate interlocking between multiple players. As an advanced player, get inspiration from a number of musical tools: Transpose and transform pieces, translate them across instrument types, quickly create variations or compose new harmonic progressions.Purpose & Values
This project wants to contribute to the preservation (and expansion) of diversity of mbira music, with a special focus on marginalized traditional instrument types.