Our Story
Every Note Counts
Founded in 2004 by a husband-and-wife team, The Marimba Workshop is a family business built on music and community. From humble beginnings, the marimbas were originally crafted by hand by Ian, who is a meticulous woodworker. While Joan with her impressive music qualifications in music education and African languages, together with 50 years of teaching experience facilitates teacher training workshops around South Africa.
The company has grown to include a small team that now manages the building of the instruments in our factory under the watchful eye of Ian. Their children Amy-Sue and Bradley also work in the company in various roles. This family connection ensures you (the customer) will always get the personal and caring touch when purchasing one of our products and in so doing becoming part of the wider Marimba Workshop Family.
Multi award winning Joan has 50 years’ experience in marimba playing, 40 of which has been with African marimbas. She is passionate about the power of the marimba! She has trained over 3000 teachers around the country and abroad and has been instrumental in getting at least 250 schools in South Africa to start marimba programmes. She has lectured and presented numerous marimba teachers’ workshop overseas.
Joan recently retired from Education Africa where she worked as a senior manager and marimba specialist and had established 38 Marimba Hubs including 12 Preschool Marimba Hubs in under-resourced areas around South Africa impacting over 2200 learners on a weekly basis. She continues to conduct Marimba Teacher Training programmes locally and around the world.
The Marimba Workshop is passionate about inclusive marimba education and to that end master craftsman and designer, Ian has fairly recently designed special marimbas for children in wheelchairs as well as those who have low mobility.
When contacting us, Bradley will likely be your primary go-to marimba person within our company. With extensive experience as a marimba player, teacher, arranger and freelance musician, Bradley too has a deep-seated passion for holistic marimba education. Once you join The Marimba Workshop Family we are always at hand to offer advice, service to your Marimba Workshop instruments and help in planning and running your marimba programme at your school.
2025 is a milestone year for The Marimba Workshop. It is our 21st birthday! Starting from extremely humble beginnings 21 years ago, The Marimba Workshop has grown to be one of the leading marimba manufacturers in South Africa. What sets us apart is that we are one of the few marimba manufacturing companies that puts music and marimba education at the forefront of what we stand for! We offer a personal and caring touch coupled with vast knowledge in music and marimba education making us the go-to marimba company in South Africa. We are committed to furthering the marimba instruments’ reach as one of the most effective musical tools for holistic personal and community development.
We look forward to welcoming you into The Marimba Workshop Family!
24 Reasons to Learn Marimba
- No prior knowledge or musical experience is needed.
- Teachers/facilitators can be trained within a relatively few hours and learners are able to play a piece of music in their very first lesson.
- Players can advance from beginners to fantastic performers within a short space of time.
- Concentration skills are greatly enhanced and worked upon when learning to play marimbas.
- Self-confidence and self-esteem are greatly boosted as there is a part for every child to play, regardless of ability.
- Playing music together is a team effort! Each and every member of the team is equally important.
- Because of the recommended technique of playing marimbas: hand to hand/ alternating hands—both sides of the brain are being exercised equally. This does not often happen in many other activities.
- Because it is recommended that hands are alternated all the time, crossing of the midline becomes second nature.
- Listening skills are greatly enhanced when playing marimbas: players need to play absolutely together to create a piece of music.
- Through various games and exercises learners’ aural training skills may be developed.
- The science of sound production can be demonstrated and studied through the marimba.
- Through singing and spelling games on the marimba, language skills and spelling is improved.
- It is a known fact that maths and music are inter-related. Marimba music is strongly based on patterning: maths is also full of patterning. It goes without saying that the one helps and reinforces the other.
- The bars on the marimba are fairly wide so learners with poor fine-motor coordination are still able to play with ease.
- Physically and mentally challenged individuals can play marimbas and be part of a marimba band.
- Fine- and gross-motor coordination are constantly being worked on when the learners are playing marimbas.
- Learners who do not have dexterity in their fingers for whatever reason often find it difficult, if not impossible, to play a melodic musical instrument. The marimba offers these learners the opportunity to play a melodic instrument.
- The nature of the music for marimbas is such that there are very easy parts and then there are parts that are graded according to abilities.
- By using dummy keyboards in the classroom every learner is focused on playing at the same time. This alleviates discipline problems.
- With imagination, patience and a sense of fun the music classroom is transformed into a magical soundscape.
- All genres of music can be played on marimbas.
- The marimba is a robust, low maintenance, portable instrument that does not need electricity to operate!
- The instruments sell themselves in the classroom and EVERYONE wants to play!
- There are lovely maths games that can be combined with marimbas to encourage and enhance maths learning.
Why Choose Us
Benefits of Using Our Marimbas
- Hand-made with quality materials by experienced craftsmen.
- Tuned electronically by experienced tuners.
- Designed by Orff specialists who understand music teaching in the classroom.
- Two ranges of Marimbas, the signature range and the traditional range, ensuring that all your marimba needs will be satisfied.
- The only marimbas manufactured in the country where the bars may be interchanged to change keys. All other marimbas manufactured can only play in C and G.
- We pride ourselves in our professionalism, after sales service and all-round teaching support that you will benefit from should you join the Marimba Workshop Family.
- The instruments are durable and easily stored and transported. Bags may be bought to store the notes when not in use or to transport them when the band plays at functions.
- Covers are available to keep the marimbas in tip-top shape.
- Regular marimba courses are offered by experienced marimba teachers.
- These marimbas are incredibly user-friendly and can be used in classrooms from grade 0 to grade 12.
- A preschool programme using these marimbas is available. Contact us to find out more about our specially designed and fully comprehensive preschool marimba program: The Adventures of The Little Grey Squirrel.
- Three children can play on one combination instrument at the same time. Two children can play on the bass at the same time. This cuts down on space required.
- Dummy keyboards are available to engage all the children in the lesson at the same time.
- There are over 1000 marimbas made by the Marimba Workshop around the world.
- These marimbas are created and designed with full music education inclusivity in mind.
- Over 21 years experience in the industry, trusted by over 500 schools throughout South Africa and abroad.