Ticha Muzavazi: innovator, musician, teacher and mbira maker

These are some of the questions I grapple with every time I dig into the rich nyunga nyunga history in Zimbabwe. Due to the comatose economy, premier mbira-making institution Kwanongoma College of Music, which runs under United College of Education is now operating below a quarter of their capacity. Had it not been for the illustrious efforts of individuals such as Almon Moyo and Trust Mtekwa, better known as Ticha Muzavazi in the Zimbabwean arts circles, the talk of making nyunga nyunga mbira would have been non-existent. Ticha Muzavazi has contributed immensely to the mbira legacy and to Zimbabwean music. He is an mbira maker of note whose products are sought after the world over. His market includes Brazil, United States of America, South Africa, Indonesia and many schools in Zimbabwe. His mbiras are famed for their high sonority and also have unique and symbolic resonators, showing the Zimbabwean experience in visual metaphors.

Ticha Muzavazi is also a very innovative teacher, who strives to make instruction delivery simple. He has embraced new media platforms such as WhatsApp to offer one on one lessons in real time with students from anywhere in the world. This should come as good news to Zimbabwean parents in the Diaspora who wish to learn or have their children learn mbira. I also find his favoured 1 to 4 notation better than the 1 to 15 Maraire number notation. From my experience teaching at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the 1 to 4 notation makes it easier for the student mbira player to visualise the instrument and allocate keys to each hand. This of course is very important before one masters the sound of each key. I am sure being a special needs educator, Ticha Muzavazi might have a different and probably more compelling argument for using this notation to teach visually impaired students.

Ticha teaches and shares notes with some of Zimbabwe’s most notable nyunganyunga names who include the late mbira maestros Taku Mafika and Chiwoniso Maraire, Hope Masike and Rutendo Machiridza to mention but a few. He champions a worthy cause, teaching music and fine art to differently abled children at St Giles in Harare. He is also the director of the Special Schools Arts Festival, a platform that enables the disabled persons in our community to express themselves through mbira music among many other things.

Perhaps, his game-changing contribution to music education is his forthcoming nyunga nyunga handbook aptly titled: An enthralling exploration of the Nyunga Nyunga Mbira with Ticha Muzavazi. This book has been test run and used as an instructional guide by the Africa University music department in Mutare, under veteran music educator Mr. Tendekai Kuture. I have had the opportunity to explore the usefulness of the book with non-Zimbabwean mbira players and I I endorse the book. It is easy to follow yet detailed. This manual teaches not just how to play nyunga nyunga songs but to master the instrument. It also comes with useful YouTube links where learners can watch easy-to-follow videos of Ticha teaching mbira. In addition, the book provides the basics and variations to playing a number of mbira modes and the songs that can be sung on these modes. I hope to review the book based on my experience as soon as it is published. For now, it would be wise to acknowledge and celebrate Ticha Muzavazi’s innovation and commitment to sharing this indigenous music of Zimbabwe with the rest of humanity.