What is the purpose of the rumba box?
A type of large thumb piano, typically used in Caribbean music, producing notes of a bass register.
Which family does the rumba box belong to?
mbira/marimba family
Chatting about the rumba box of Jamaica, a large version of the African mbira/marimba family of instruments which, in the Caribbean contexts, supplies the bass role in genres like “mento” (Jamaica), “merengue” (Dominican Republic), “mereng” (Haiti) and the original “son” (Cuba).
How is a rhumba box made?
Formerly, rhumba boxes were acoustical, depending on a closed column of air projecting through a sound hole to amplify the sound. Tuned keys of spring metal were rigidly mounted on the front board of the soundbox, generally made of mahogany or cedar and the player sat on the box in order to play it.
What is the Marimbula made of?
cedar wood box
A bass instrument made of a large cedar wood box with metal keys attached to one side, which when plucked, create a deep, earthy sound from the resonator hole cut above the keys.
How do you play Marimbula?
The ∼Cloud Nine∼ Marimbula may be held for playing between the knees like a cello or in any other way that suits the player. Some hold it on the lap, others play with the instrument lying flat. The best most powerful sound results when the top and back are free to vibrate, and the instrument is close to the floor.
Which folk form uses a rhumba box?
mento dance
The mento dance is a Jamaican folk-form dance with acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums and rhumba box.
What is Jonkonnu in Jamaica?
Jonkonnu, a fusion of African masked dances and British folk plays, used to be prime street-side entertainment in Jamaica at Christmas. Traditional Jonkonnu features costumed characters such as King, Queen, Devil, Pitchy-Patchy, Belly Woman, Cow Head, Policeman, Horse Head, Wild Apache Indian, Bride and House Head.
Where is the Marimbula from?
Cuba
With its roots in African instruments, the marimbula originated in the province of Oriente, Cuba, in the 19th century. Eventually it spread throughout the Caribbean, the Americas, and Africa, from Liberia to the Congo.