Forming The Rayiro Orchestra pt. 1: The Ridzautare Marimba

Meet The Ridzautare

With the Ridzautare, I always try to let folks know that by no means am I the first person to make an instrument of this nature. In fact, this concept of using tuned metal pipes is already being practiced by so many musicians around the world. My specific contribution is in putting this concept in conversation with the principles of Zimbabwe's marimba music, and seeing (or rather hearing) how this can contribute to our traditional music here. You can watch the Ridzautare be played here.

Structure

The Ridzautare comprises of three main components: the metallic tuned pipe-keys, the body upon which the keys are laid, and the drawer compartment where the keys and mallets are stored.

Unlike on a typical wooden marimba, the keys on the Ridzautare can be switched out to change the scale. The little drawer compartment stores these extra keys so as not to lose any of them. The rings that hold the keys are intentionally loose-fitting to produce a subtle buzzing sound which is iconic to many of Africa's musical instruments.

As you can see, this instrument is still a bit crude in its physical structure: I think it could certainly use a more artistic touch to it. However, I'm really excited to share my progress so far. A huge thanks to Godfrey Chimutsa (my former student) who helped a lot in constructing this!

Yes, my mother is not pleased about how I've decided to use her spoons as the mallets! The mallets are in the process of being made, and I'm still debating the level of intricacy they should have too.

Influences And Sound

The influences for this instrument were many-fold. The most obvious one is the Marimba itself, both in key layout and playing style. Other marimba-adjacent instruments such as the balafon from Mali, the timbila from Mozambique, and the glockenspiel from Germany also informed how I thought about the Ridzautare's design.

"Ridzautare" roughly translates to "play iron" (kuridza = to play; utare = iron). The characteristic timbre of the instrument is of course metallic, but also the sharp and crispy sustained sound isn't really present in the traditional instruments in Zimbabwe save for the use of bells and triangles. Thus, the Ridzautare would bring a shimmering texture to the traditional repertoires. I think depending on how you arrange a piece of music and with which other instruments, the Ridzautare could be utilized either in the beginning of songs, in more quieter sections of a song, or towards the end. I suppose one may give it a kushaura (or leading) part, but in my opinion this may not be always be advisable given how 'sharp' it sounds if that makes sense. Whichever way, I leave it to the reader to make their own decision with how they would use it.

Summary

Anyway, this was a really fun project for me. As more instruments find a physical form from my mental imagination, I really hope I'll one day have a chance to share with you all the whole musical ensemble. One instrument down, many more to go!

Thank you so much for your time dear reader, and I hope to see you next time!