Kalimba Magic NEWS
Volume 2, Number 1
January 20, 2007
In This Issue:
Mbirathon
January 20-21
The Mbira is the most developed member of the kalimba's family in Africa. I think it is a good deal more complex and involved than the kalimba. The kalimbas I play and sell are beautiful westernized spin-offs of the traditional African instruments, and the mbira is the instrument that Hugh Tracey fell in love with and inspired him to do what he did.
From Saturday night Jan 20 at 6:00 until Sunday night Jan 21 at 6:00, people at several sites around the world will be playing live mbira music for 24 hours straight. I won't be at one of the mbirathon sites, but I'm going to have my own personal kalimbathon and karimbathon, playing as much as I can for that time - honoring "the common ancestors of all human beings alive on earth today" and playing for the healing of our communities and our world.
Sorry this email is going out on the late side for this important announcement.
Learn More about the Mbirathon.
A new book of kalimba duets and trios
Available February 6
To celebrate the bonding between friends and lovers playing kalimba music together, I've put together a book of kalimba duets and trios. 31 songs and 72 pages of mostly original songs for kalimba written in kalimba tablature. This book has parts for alto and treble kalimbas, the sansula, the 9-note Cloud Nine marimbula, the treblito, the karimba, the pentatonic kalimba, and the 8-Note kalimba. Some of the more advanced songs use different tunings on the two or three kalimbas, thereby permitting key changes, modulations, and accidentals.
This book does not have a CD of the songs, but you will be able to download the songs in KTabS format for free from the KTabS website. (Register, proceed to MyKTabS, and look for the Duets KPack; you will also need to download the trial KTabS or purchase the KTabS Reader or the full KTabS program.)
Heads up: I will be sending out a short email when this book is available, along with an advertised special for buying the book, an Alto kalimba, and a Treble kalimba (Alto-Treble duets are most common in the duets book). The special rates will be good through Valentines Day.
Interview with Mark Holdaway
Founder of Kalimba Magic
Mark Holdaway and Deb Driskill
Mark Holdaway is a multi-instrumentalist and kalimba player, a nearly-former radio astronomer, living in Tucson AZ. In 2005, Mark started Kalimba Magic, a business that promotes the kalimba through instructional materials and CD's, as well as selling the Hugh Tracey and other kalimbas.
MH: This month, I'm turning the tables on myself. Usually, I get to interview some great kalimba player, asking them all sorts of technical questions about how they get their kalimba sound or how they use arpeggios. But this month, I'm handing the Kalimba Magic torch to my partner Deb Driskill, and she gets to interview me, Mark Holdaway. And I dare say that Deb's more personable style might give a better result than my techno-geek style. OK, time to switch hats, Deb - or should I say, "KM"?
KM: OK, Mark, you've performed on guitar, mandolin, mandola, bass, recorder,
charango, viola, hammered dulcimer, keyboards, harmonica, gu-zheng, and kalimba.
Of all these instruments, why did you choose the kalimba to be your primary focus?
MH: A bunch of reasons. I used to walk to work, or ride a bus, and I loved
to make music while I walk - you really get into the beat with the rhythm of
your steps - and the kalimba is natural for playing while you walk.
Also, I love to improvise, and the kalimba is a perfect instrument
for improvisation. I find that most people have never heard a kalimba
played well, and it sort of blows their minds the first time they see
someone playing really good music on the kalimba. And the
kalimba really seems to resonate with people, really gets down
deep into their hearts - there is something sentimental about kalimba
music, like it takes you back to a time when you were a child and you
were mesmerized by a music box or something. And I have to say that
the kalimba has a way of hypnotizing me and getting me into this
place of pure joy - have you ever done something that was beyond
what you thought was possible, and just sort of opened your mouth
and nothing came out? It seems I am often in that place when I play
the kalimba. And finally, I think destiny had something to do with it.
KM: So the uniqueness of the kalimba captivated you - it was a better
tool to reach people than other instruments?
MH: Well, I actually consider the guitar to be the instrument I'm best on.
I can hear the melodies and harmonies more clearly in my mind on the
guitar. But how many great guitarists are there in the world? You can
be a great guitarist and not even be noticed. I guess I find that people
are more open to the light I create on the kalimba, because it is something
new to them - even though the kalimba is an ancient instrument.
Also, I think when I get into that "joy zone", thats when people really take
notice.
KM: What kind of goals do you have for the kalimba?
MH: I use the kalimba to explore my soul. Its a bit like diving down
deep under the water, and coming back up with a song. And this is
not unique to me - I think most people can do this. All of my students
come up with great things, and I help them shape those things into
songs. So with my students, its all about process. I like to get
a finished product like a song out of a lesson, because that is like
a touchstone that the student and I can hold in our hands and look
back and say "OK, we've accomplished something here".
KTabS is a great tool for nailing that "finished song idea" down
so it doesn't slip away.
The books I write are coming from the opposite direction - they take some of the ideas I've had - or ideas my students have had - and form them into a little crystal, and then put that idea-crystal into the reader's hands - I guess at that point, it is the reader's job to "reverse engineer" the idea-crystal, to explore it and see where it comes from by repeating it over and over again or improvising around it.
But both the lessons with my students and the books for other folks are aiming at the same goal - to spread the good word about the kalimba - to get more people to connect with this tool of self discovery and joy and wonder. While the kalimba comes from Africa, it is going somewhere totally different. Sure, you can always go back to Africa, but this instrument is going out into the universe, to inner space and outer space.
KM: It seems that you feel a connection to other people, to Africa,
to the planet, and to cosmology through playing the kalimba.
MH: I guess I'm always searching for connection. When I play,
I'm looking to find the piece of music that fits perfectly with
the person I'm playing with, or fits perfectly with the moment.
And when I'm really in the groove with the kalimba, it feels as if
time is standing still. When I find the way to connect to another
person playing kalimba, its as if all the gears match, or as if
I've found a path from my heart to theirs. Its pretty cosmic.
KM: It sounds like a spiritual path - do you think the kalimba is
a spiritual path for you?
MH: Absolutely!
KM: How did you come to know that?
MH: You know, it took a long time. For every voice that told me
how amazing the kalimba was, it seems like there was another
voice that told me that the kalimba was stupid. One guy I met on
the bus said "I bet you never make a single quarter from playing
that instrument." It is so easy to internalize those negatives that
we hear, and to not follow our truth or our dreams. But those
negatives don't belong to us. There is a shining light within each of
us, and it is our job here on earth to be true to that shining light,
wherever it takes us.
About three years ago, I was so stuck in the mud of negative thoughts that I didn't even see the point of duplicating my kalimba CD "Two Thumbs Up". But I met this woman at a gig, Betty Edwards, and we started to speak regularly on the phone, and she kept saying crazy things, like "Mark, you have a real gift from God - you have a gift that can fill someone's heart with beauty and joy, and you can't just sit on it. You need to take your gift out into the world. You can change peoples' lives with this music." Her words resonated in my heart. And when you look at things that way, instead of music being about making sure you have the right cables for the gig, or fighting to get in the door to get the next gig, or trying to overcome your inertia and record some good music, or making money to keep the band happy - instead of all these hassles, it shifted to getting my heart and soul in a good place, a place of love, of positivity and giving, so that my heart worked right and the good music just flowed out as a natural byproduct. And I'm working on the next phase - living my life in a way so that my heart is in that place most of the time. Thats my spiritual path.
KM: How do you share your spiritual path with other people?
MH: I view my CD's and books as vehicles to inspire people - ultimately to
inspire them to get on their own path. Maybe they can learn something
of their own way from looking at my insights and my path.
Even though most people in America have never heard of the kalimba, there are thousands of kalimba players in the world right now who have risen to a certain level where they are experiencing the same things that I am talking about - the mind-blowing joy and open-mouthed wonder - but each of these rising kalimba masters is doing it in their own way, creating their own style. Its really a beautiful thing to watch as it unfolds. I'm finding some of them, and some of them are finding me, and I'm trying to shine a bit of a light on them through this interview series and the Kalimba Community web page.
And ultimately, I have this really crazy idea that the world would be a fundamentally different and better place if we could just get everyone to experience this sort of joy. What if there were a joy-filled kalimba player in every neighborhood, and every once in a while most everyone got to hear a few magical twinkling notes and see this happy person with a crazy grin? Don't you think it would make them smile too? Don't you think it would lower the stress level of the world a little bit, maybe help people to accept each other a bit more, help people to get outside of their own world view and be able to expand their minds into new possibilities? That is what Kalimba Magic is all about - expanding new possibilities.
KM: It occurs to me part of what you are doing is building a community.
MH: I'm a pretty shy person - I usually feel uncomfortable when I'm around
a bunch of people, and I've been afraid of community - but this is my path.
One's spiritual path seems to entail some things that come easily and naturally,
but we are also led to overcome certain things that are hard or foreign to us.
And community is one of those things that I'm learning.
One of the first lessons I learned in community is that community extends beyond my Hugh Tracey business interests. Scotty Hayward builds his own kalimbas, and he is an amazing guy. I've gotten a great connection with Steve Catania of Catania Folk Instruments. And N. Scott Robinson is too much of a traditionalist to be that into the Hugh Tracey kalimbas, but its like we both look at each other, see what each is doing, and say "cool". These folks and many others are all on their own parallel paths, trying to touch people's hearts and to make their own piece of earth more beautiful than it was before they walked on it. I am proud to be part of this community, and part of my job is to open the door and invite more people in.
You can learn more about Mark at his website www.markholdaway.com, or by poking around the Kalimba Magic website.
Mark at the Tucson Peace Fair
Men-Jaro, Dance and Music from South Africa
Vincent Mantsoe
Men-Jaro Tour in America: Men-Jaro is modern/tradition-based dance and modern/African music played on traditional instruments. The music was written by Anthony Kaplan, a former student of Andrew Tracey, son of Hugh Tracey. The dance is choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe. Both are from South Africa. They will be doing an American Tour this spring, with performances and workshops. If you are close to one of the performances, this definitely looks like it will be worthwhile. Click for their tour schedule (a PDF file).
An Article on Introducing the Kalimba into the Schools
Several months ago, I was contacted by Ashley Bradford, who is undertaking graduate study in music education. She had chosen a research project on introducing the kalimba into the schools, and she drove down and interviewed me. The paper came out pretty well, and you can download her paper on Kalimba in the Schools (a PDF file).
For more info, you can contact Ashley about this work.
Or visit the Masters Music Academy web site.
The Kalimba Community
Kalimba Tour? There is talk in the Kalimba Community about organizing a kalimba tour and hitting various festivals. I am going crazy trying to finish up my job as a radio astronomer and can't help out at this time, but Kevin Spears (kalimbaman7@yahoo.com) and Stephen Swartz (louisianaman@neuf.fr) are good contact people for planning such a kalimba tour.
By the way, Kevin Spears has a new Myspace kalimba page. The song that played when I last went there, Expressions, is killer good.
Peck Allmond and I just traded CD's. Peck is playing kalimba-centric jazz, with a foundation of kalimba and world sounds and jazz horns, several played by Peck himself. Anyway welcome to the Kalimba Community!
Kalimba Club Meets Again! We are starting up the Kalimba Club at my house again on Thurday Feb 8, and again on Thursday Feb 22. My aim is to get the kalimba club happening every Thursday, but we are going to ease into it! If you don't know how to get to my house, give me a call at (520) 881-4666. We'll start at 7:00 pm.
A weekend kalimba workshop? Several people have asked about coming out to Tucson for some sort of kalimba workshop. If you are interested in coming out to Tucson AZ for a weekend kalimba workshop, please contact me. I need to get an idea of: what time of year? how many people might come? how much are you willing to spend for lodging? or would you be interested in coming and teaching? Let me know if a weekend kalimba workshop is your idea of a great time.
And to give us some practice with the workshop thing, I'll be doing a shorter workshop for local kalimba players, probably in April. If you are interested, you know how to get me.
Kalimbas and Music Therapy? I have heard testimonials from several people, telling me about the therapeutic use of the kalimba. If you are a music therapist and have used the kalimba in your work, please let me know. Or, if you have self-prescribed the kalimba for pain management, for relaxation, or for other healing purposes, I'm very interested in hearing your story.
Here is something cool to look at: the Array Mbira. Though this is sort of the opposite of the rather organic mbira. And I was happy playing my little 8-note kalimba! I think the nearly 4-octave range is the most amazing thing, as the Hugh Tracey kalimbas have only about a 2 and a half octave range.
On the Hugh Tracey 8-Note: I breezed through my first demo order of Hugh Tracey 8-Note kalimbas, and now I've gotten my second order - including a few with pickups. The more I deal with the little 8-Note kalimbas, the more I like them. I'm working with three fundamentally different sorts of tunings on the 8-Note kalimbas, and lending these out to friends (Catania and HT8's). With only eight notes, it is so much easier to experiment with new tunings. And they sound so good in a plastic bowl or resonator gourd. It really seems to me that many people who own a kalimba would like to have one or two of these to play around on.
Here is a very simple modification for your 8-Note kalimba's tuning, turning it into an exotic exploration device for ethnic music.
I realized it is a great kalimba to play as a beginner because it is less intimidating with only 8 notes. But also its a great kalimba to become an expert player on too, as you can more easily experiment with it - and more easily understand your experiments.
Kalimba Reviews: Do you have a special understanding of a particular kalimba? Perhaps you have a special tuning, or you have modified your kalimba in some way? Or you just really dig this certain kalimba, and you feel you are the person for this kalimba? You might just be the perfect person to write a review for that kalimba. If you are interested in reviewing a kalimba, please contact me!
Tip of the Day: recently we've had a lot of tips offered by other folks in the kalimba community. Last week I had three great questions from Kevin Eady of NY, and each of those questions will show up as a Tip in the future. SO, keep those questions and tips coming! Last week and next week's tips focus on playing together with other people.
In Next Month's Newsleter...
- Interview with kalimba player and master percusionist N Scott Robinson
- An article by Percy Mwana of New Orleans on kalimba pickups
- Percussive Notes will be reviewing the 8-Note Kalimba Book and the Karimba Book in their February edition - we'll reprint the reviews.
- Its a-comin' - the promised price increase (sorry) - but I haven't gotten around to it yet (whew). Maybe in February.
If you have any questions, or if you have suggestions for future Newsletter Topics or Tip Of The Day ideas, please share them with me! -Mark
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