Soul of Mbira: Music and Traditions of the Shona People of Zimbabwe

by Paul F. Berliner

This sensitive, scholarly portrayal of Shona musicians and their musical tradition is highly engaging and comprehensive in its range of data. Paul Berliner provides the rich cultural context for the music and an intimate, precise account of the meaning of the mbira and its music.

Genres: Music, Anthropology, Cultural, Africa

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Tyler]

A great ethnography with transparent methodology.

[Matty Demont · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book after starting to seriously learn my mbira from Zimbabwe. I remember this is Berliner's PhD dissertation. I will never forget the story he told about visiting a mbira expert village chief in Zimbabwe several times to desperately trying to get a full understanding and naming of all mbira keys.