How the kayamb makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the kayamb belongs to the shaken and scraped idiophones: the body is shaken, scraped or split – rattles, maracas and guiros.
More broadly it is one of the idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself vibrates, without strings or a stretched membrane.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The kayamb or kayamba is a flat musical instrument, a shaken idiophone, used in the African countries to play different types of music. It is called maravanne in Mauritius, or caïamb or kayanm in Reunion.
Kayambas are made of reed (or sugar cane flower stems) and its tubes filled with jequirity or canna seeds.
Other shaken and scraped idiophones
Tambourine
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Maraca
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Music box
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Sistrum
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Angklung
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Jingle bell
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Ratchet
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Güiro
Shaken and scraped idiophones
Frequently asked questions
What does a kayamb sound like?
As one of the shaken and scraped idiophones, its sound comes from the way the body is shaken, scraped or split.
What type of instrument is the kayamb?
It is classified as shaken and scraped idiophones (Hornbostel–Sachs 112.13).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q497224 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Kayamb – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by David Monniaux – CC BY-SA 3.0