Preface Introduction Part A Components of the Mbira System 1 Collecting Ideas in an Improvisation-Based Tradition: A Longitudinal Approach 2 The Mbira Repertory: Central Concepts 3 Representing Mbira Music in Notation 4 Sounds Ringing in My Head : Mbira Parts' Designs 5 Hand Dance: Keyboard Polyphony and Polyrhythmic Templates 6 In the Shadows of the Imagination: Harmonic Motion 7 Composed Variations 8 Variation Techniques 9 The Fluidity of Perception in Performance 10 The Interlocking Aesthetic: Kushaura-Kutsinhira Combinations Part B A Biography of Knowledge: The Cultivation of Cosmas Magaya's Personal Style 11 The Acquisition of Repertory, and Its Associations 12 The Path from Re-creation to Invention 13 Musical Arrangements: The Systemization of Aural Preferences 14 Musical Influences: Incorporation and Modification of Others' Styles Part C The Application of Knowledge in Performances 15 Improvisation and the Individual Mbira Player 16 Narrative Tours of the Magayas' Individual Kushaura and Kutsinhira Nhemamusasa Performances 17 Narrative Tour of Kunaka's Solo Nhimutimu Performance 18 Comparative Analysis of Individual Players' Nhemamusasa and Nhimutimu Performances 19 Improvisation and Kushaura-Kutsinhira Interplay 20 Narrative Tours of the Magayas' Kushaura-Kutsinhira Interplay in Nhemamusasa Performances 21 Comparative Analysis of Collective Resources and Creative Processes in Nhemamusasa Performances 22 Social-Musical Relations in Improvisation: Performing at a Bira 23 Conclusion Part D Music Texts Acknowledgments Notes References Filmography/TV Programs/Videography Index.