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. 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.
Read more about Array Mbira: Description, Arrangement of The Array System, Technique
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