Mbira Music - Shona Mbira Music

Shona Mbira Music

Generally, each mbira piece can be divided into four sections of twelve pulses each, although there are songs that divide into nine or eight pulses as well. Andrew Tracey refers to each cycle as a chara, which translates as "version", but literally means "fingering" or "thumb".

Traditional Shona Mbira music is typically composed to two different parts, the Kushaura (meaning "to lead" or "to start") and the Kutsinhira (meaning "to follow"). Each part is played on two different mbiras, with the kushaura often being the more simple part, and the kutsinhira more complicated.