| Simbing | |
| Background: | string |
| Names: | |
| Classification: | harp-lutes |
| Hornbostel Sachs: | 323-5 |
| Hornbostel Sachs Desc: | Acoustic instruments which have a resonator as an integral part of the instrument, in which the plane of the strings lies at right angles to the sound-table; a line joining the lower ends of the strings would be perpendicular to the neck. These have notched bridges. Sounded by the bare fingers |
The simbing is a Malian harp-lute, used by the Mandinka people of Mali, and the Mandinka and Jola peoples of Senegal and Gambia.[2] [3] The instrument consists of a calabash resonator, a (usually curved) stick for a neck, a metal jingle attached to the neck, and a bridge that holds the string over the skin soundboard in a vertical line.[2] For comparison, lutes (such as the guitar) usually have the strings held in a horizontal line above the soundboard. The instrument has five to nine strings. A simbing from the 1790s was reported as having seven strings by Mungo Park.[4]
The instrument was played in the Mandinka and Jola cultures in the context of hunting.[2] With the Mandingas, the instrument was played by "the hunter's musician" who narrated songs about the hunt and the animals.[2] With the Jolas, the instrument is used to accompany men singing in groups.[2]
In addition to the instrument's strings being plucked, its calabash gourd could also be tapped with sticks by the singer, to produce a percussive effect.[2]
