Breaking News From Africa
New African music culture. By Jack Chapin
Lamellophone Thumb
This instrument is like a mini piano. This instrument is popular in the African Great Lakes area. The instrument is hand held and has a number of different pieces of metal used as keys.
Balophon
The balophon is a type of wooden xylophone. It has 16 - 26 keys. This instrument originated in Mali in the 1300s. During the slave trade Europeans brought a band a popular balophon players to the Americas they were later recorded in 1779 by the Virgina Gazette. This instrument is now called the marimba or the Gyil.