Array mbira

The Array mbira is a hand-crafted modern musical instrument with a unique harp- or bell-like sound. It is made in the United States by its inventor Bill Wesley and manufactured by Wesley with Patrick Hadley in San Diego, California, United States. Its development began in the 1960s. It is a radical redesign of the African mbira and is part of the lamellaphone family.

The metal tines are grouped into multiple octaves. Sounding each grouping of octaves in a left-to-right direction runs through the circle of fifths, and sounding each group in a right-to-left direction runs through the circle of fourths (unlike a piano which runs through the chromatic scale). Usually, the Array mbira contains two and a half repetitions of the entire chromatic scale, arranged in a continuous circle of fifths. The octaves of each note (A220, A440, and A880, for example) are grouped together in a staggered, nearly vertical arrangement. Each of the metal tines in a group may be played independently, and multiple octaves may be sounded together in a one-fingered stroke. The octave groups may contain as few as two octaves (two tines), or as many as five. There are 12×2.5=30 octave groups in the standard design, so a five-octave Array mbira uses 5×30=150 tines. The arrangement of the tines allows music to be played with relative ease in any key.