The Marimba Has A Long And Obscure History
Resonant mallet percussion instruments, like the marimba are believed to be some of the first pitched instruments ever invented. 
The oldest written record of a wooden mallet percussion instrument dates back to 3,500 B.C.E., where the “ugab” is made reference to in the Judeo-Christian bible. This instrument contained bars of different lengths suspended over gourds or bamboo resonators.
The origins of the marimba are still up for debate, as South Africa, Indonesia, the Amazon, Thailand, and more regions claim to have created it; some believe that it had originated in Southeast Asia in the 14th Century, and others that it came from Africa. One possible location lies in South Africa. South African folklore contains a goddess named “Marimba” who made an instrument by hanging gourds below wooden bars.
In the sixteenth century, the marimba was brought to South America as a result of the slave trade. In 1850, Mexican marimbist Manuel Bolán Cruz (1810-1863), modified the old bow marimba to the wooden straight one, lengthening the legs so that the musicians could play in a standing mode, and expanded the keyboard. Sebastian Hurtado, a Guatemalan, took off the gourds and attached wooden resonator pipes in their places. This is the defining characteristic between South American and African marimbas, and is the model of the modern-day marimba. In 1892, Mexican musician Corazón de Jesús Borras Moreno expanded marimba to include the chromatic scale by adding another row of sound bars, akin to black keys on the piano.
Marimbas Are Popular Today In Much Of The World
Marimbas have become widely popular around the world being used throughout Africa, South East Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Central America. Instruments like the marimba are present throughout the entirety of subsaharan Africa. The instrument itself is most similar and shares its name with the marimbas of modern-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although it is also similar to instruments that exist in West Africa such as the balafon of the Mandinka people, known as gyil among the Gur peoples in and around northern Ghana and Burkina Faso.
The marimba is popular throughout Central America, with its popularity spreading from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. The first historical account in Central America is from 1550 where enslaved Africans in Guatemala are reported playing it. By 1680 accounts of Maya musicians using marimbas with gourd resonator were made in Guatemala. It became more widespread during the 18th and 19th centuries, as Maya and Ladino ensembles started using it on festivals. In 1821, the marimba was proclaimed the national instrument of Guatemala in its independence proclamation.
Traditional marimba bands are especially popular in Guatemala, where they are the national symbol of culture, but are also strongly established in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and Oaxaca. They are also very popular in other Central American nations such as Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, as well as among Afro-Ecuadorians and Afro-Colombians.
Marimba’s second range of popularity in Latin America is in the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. The instruments were brought there via the African diaspora and their cultural significance has survived to the present day. The Afro-Latino communities that take part in preserving and playing it value its importance as a touchstone of their resilience.
In Colombia the most widespread marimba is the marimba de chonta (peach-palm marimba). Marimba music has been listed on UNESCO as an intangible part of Colombian culture. In recent times marimberos (marimba players) and the marimba genres as a whole have started to fade out in popularity. Nonetheless, the genre is still popular in the departments of Chocó and Cauca.
In Ecuador the most widespread marimba is the marimba esmeraldeña (Esmeralda marimba). Marimbas are an important aspect of Afro-Ecuadorian culture: many religious ceremonies and songs are accompanied with marimba music along with festivals and dances. It is most popular in the province of Esmeraldas where in the 16th century Alonso de Illescas, a maroon, found a maroon settlement near the area around modern day Esmeraldas. In that province, it evokes a sense of pride for the community in which years centuries marimba music has been prohibited after government encroachment upon the Esmeraldas province
The Marimba Instrument
Marimbas belong to the same family of intruments as xylophones and have between two and three octaves of wooden keys, often arranged in simple scales (eg. piano white keys only). Our soprano and tenor marimbas have 2 complete octaves (15 keys). The tenor, baritone and bass have between 1-2 octaves, with the tenor having a higher pitch than the baritone and bass. The keys are made from either padauk, wenge, mahogany, or rosewood. Each key is cut and tuned by grinding a groove in the underside. In Africa, most marimbas are made by local artisans from locally available materials.
Marimba bars produce their fullest sound when struck just off center, while striking the bar in the center produces a more articulate tone. On chromatic marimbas, the accidentals (black keys) can also be played on the extreme front edge of the bar, away from the node (the place where the string goes through the bar) if necessary. Playing on the node produces a sonically weak tone, and the technique is only used when the player or composer is looking for a muted sound from the instrument.
Key Marimba Musicians
Alport Mhlanga played a significant role in the revival and development of the Marimba in Zimbabwe – bringing it back from near extinction in the early 1960’s. Many of his students have gone on to compose and share the music around the world.
Dumisani Maraire, student of Alport’s, was among the first to bring this music to Seattle from Zimbabwe over 12 years ago. Many others have come and shared since then.
Clair Omar Musser was a chief proponent of marimba in the United States during vaudeville time.
French composer Darius Milhaud introduced marimbas into Western classical music with his 1947 Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone. Four-mallet grip was employed to play chords, enhancing interest for the instrument.
In the late 20th century, modernist and contemporary composers found new ways to use marimba: notable examples include Leoš Janáček (Jenufa), Carl Orff (Antigonae), Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Hans Werner Henze (Elegy for Young Lovers), Pierre Boulez (Le marteau sans maître) and Steve Reich.
We are thankful for their gifts.