Valikora

The Valikora is a new hybrid creation that combines features of three different musical instruments. Its shape and structure are basically the same as the Malagasy tube zither known as Valiha. The tuning and string layout is borrowed from the Kora, a West African harp-banjo. The 21 strings used in the Valikora are made specially for the Chinese board zither called Guzheng.

Also innovative is the system of guitar machine heads installed at the base of the instrument. The body of the Valikora is a segment of a large bamboo pole from China with open nodes and the small bridges that sustain and fine tune the strings are cut out from hard African calabash. The resulting sound is definitely close to the Malagasy instrument in the upper register and very much like a harp in the lower section.