Kinobe makes these instruments by hand:     kora West African harp adungu Ugandan harp akogo Thumb piano endongo Bowed lyre endingidi Tube fiddle endere Flute tama Talking drum

The tama or talking drum is a West African drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that the drum is said to “talk.” The player puts the drum under one shoulder and beats the instrument with a stick. The drum is hourglass shaped with two heads tuned by straps that connect the heads with each other. A tama player raises or lowers the pitch by squeezing or releasing the drum’s strings with the upper arm.

The kalimba or thumb piano is a musical instrument that is uniquely African. Several reeds or tines are plucked with the thumb or fingers, and the reed vibrations are amplified by a hollow box resonator or a sounding board. The name kalimba is a Bantu word which means “little music.”

The kora is a 21-string harp lute from West Africa. A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar. The player uses only the thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings, using the remaining fingers to hold the sticks either side of the strings and secure the instrument. The kora is played in Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal, and The Gambia

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