January 15, 2009
Kalimba Magic NEWS
What's the Buzz at Kalimba Magic
Looking Up in 2009 with a 15% Off Coupon for Our Newsletter Readers
The world is certainly facing a special challenge these days. To bring in the new year with a positive attitude, Kalimba Magic is offering a 15% discount on special items at the Kalimba Magic Shop. Just use the coupon code LookingUp when checking out. This coupon is good through March 31, 2009.
BTW, I mistakenly advertised the now expired coupon code Christmas1 as a free shipping as well as discount coupon. That code expired Dec 20, but if you purchased something hoping to get a deal that you don't believe you got, please contact me and we'll see what I can do to set things right!
Our two most popular kalimbas,
one for bigger and one for
smaller hands
Sweetheart Special! Get the Alto and Treble Kalimba Together
Discover the deep intimacy of playing kalimba with your sweetheart by taking advantage of this smokin' hot deal: Get 1 Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba with pickup and 1 Hugh Tracey Treble Kalimba with pickup, plus the instructional book of your choice (e.g.,Treble Fundamentals, Alto Fundamentals, Duets, or the Christmas Book) - a $249 value - for just $185.
The Sweetheart Special will be available through Valentine's Day, February 14, 2009.
Teachers: Would You Like to Use Kalimbas in Your Classroom?
February is Black History Month, and this is a wonderful opportunity to bring kalimbas into the schools. If you are a teacher who would like to bring kalimbas into your classroom, please give me a call at (520) 881-4666 to discuss which kalimbas might be most appropriate for your students. I will also be able to suggest some useful educational materials. If you are purchasing several kalimbas for your class, we can probably work out a good deal for you.
Kalimbas work best for children about seven years old or older - younger children often have soft thumbnails which don't last long against the metal tines of a kalimba. However, the Hokema 5-Note kalimba has very smooth tines which can be played by 4 or 5 year olds for short periods of time - 10 minutes?
Music Therapists: I'm Looking for Kalimba Stories
How do you use the kalimba in music therapy? Or, if you are not a music therapist, have you used the kalimba to soothe, calm, inspire, or heal someone?
I am writing an article for the February Kalimba Magic Newsletter on how Music Therapists are using the kalimba. Please help by taking this Music Therapist survey.
Kalimba Science Project for a Special High School or College Student
I have done some investigation of the spectral properties of individual kalimba tines vibrating, how the tines' vibrations affect each other, and how the kalimba box affects the sound of the tines.
The tools I use are simple: a kalimba, a fairly good quality recording (a good microphone and a computer), and the freeware program Audacity, which has the functionality of being able to graph the power spectrum for any selected part of a WAV file. This allows one to study the spectral properties of the attack of the kalimba note. The power spectrum shows us which notes are present, shedding light on what is going on physically. The results of some of my studies have been posted in the Friday Tips - though they have been on vacation for quite a while now.
I am interested in studying the effects of buzzers - such as the kinds that are found on the karimba, or the ones which are on this issue's kalimba of the month. I am looking for a bright and motivated high school or college student who is good at math and physics who is interested in doing a research project on how buzzers modulate the kalimba sound. I will be able to give significant guidance (mostly over email), and I may be the one who does the recordings - or you could do so, if you are set up to do that. Ideally, you would be doing most of the data reduction and we would plan some of the experiments together, and you could plan some of the experiments on your own.
Does this sound like you? If so, contact me!
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