Introduction -- Part A : Components of the mbira system. Collecting ideas in an improvisation-based tradition : A longitudinal approach ; T he mbira repertory : Central concepts ; Representing mbira music in not ation ; Sounds ringing in my head : Mbira parts' designs ; Hand dance : Keyboard polyphony and polyrhythmic templates ; In the shadows of the imagination : Harmonic motion ; Composed variations ; Variation techniq ues ; The fluidity of perception in performance ; The interlocking aest hetic : Kushaura-kutsinhira combinations -- Part B : A biography of kno wledge : The cultivation of Cosmas Magaya's personal style. The acquisi tion of repertory, and its associations ; The path from re-creation to invention ; Musical arrangements : The systemization of aural preferenc es ; Musical influences : Incorporation and modification of others' sty les -- Part C : The application of knowledge in performances ; Improvis ation and the individual mbira player ; Narrative tours of the Magayas' individual kushaura and kutsinhira nhemamusasa performances ; Narrativ e tour of Kunaka's solo nhimutimu performance ; Comparative analysis of individual players' nhemamusasa and nhimutimu performances ; Improvisa tion and kushaura-kutsinhira interplay ; Narrative tours of the Magayas ' kushaura-kutsinhira interplay in nhemamusasa performances ; Comparati ve analysis of collective resources and creative processes in nhemamusa sa performances ; Social-musical relations in improvisation : Performin g at a bira ; Conclusion -- Part D : Music texts.