The mbira dzavadzimu has a strong association with traditional Shona spirit possession practices, but it also has come to be incorporated in other settings more secular in nature. From a design standpoint, three features help to distinguish this specific type of lamellophone (plucked idiophone) from numerous other ones found on the African continent: 1) a solid wood soundboard with a fingerhole drilled into its bottom right hand corner; 2) 22-24 metal (preferably spring steel) tongues; and 3) three manuals, with the high-register keys situated to the right (played with the right hand thumb and index finger) and the middle- and low-register keys to the left arranged in two parallel rows (these tongues are plucked with the left hand thumb). Some sort of device will be attached to the board to contribute a background buzzing or rattling sound to the musical sound produced on the keys. Most commonly, a mbira dzavadzimu is wedged into a large hemispheric gourd resonator called a deze (not pictured) that greatly increases its volume.

The mbira dzavadzimu pictured on this page has 24 tongues. Its device for producing the background rattle consists of a strip of sheet metal with three loosly attached bottlecaps.