February 4, 2009
Kalimba Magic NEWS
New Products from Kalimba Magic
African-tuned karimba and Hugh Tracey Alto kalimba
10 Traditional Karimba Pieces Transcribed for Alto Kalimba!
While the Hugh Tracey Alto kalimba is firmly rooted in African traditions, there has been almost no traditional African music written out for the Alto—until now! Kalimba Magic is very happy to bring transcriptions of 10 traditional karimba pieces—originally notated by Andrew Tracey and Paul F. Berliner from karimba pieces played by Jega Tapera—over to the Alto.
The Alto kalimba has a very different note arrangement than the African-tuned karimba, so some things that are simple to do on the karimba are difficult or impossible on the Alto. Detailed notes are included which explain the places where the traditional part has been modified to make it more readily playable on the Alto. Also, I have taken the liberty of adding extra versions of some variations, which include some obvious Alto harmonies to the traditional tunes.
This collection of traditional Karimba tunes transcribed for the Alto kalimba is available only from Kalimba Magic via download for $10 and includes PDF tablature, KTabS and MP3 files. You don't need to own KTabS to learn these pieces, but running these tunes on KTabS may be the best and fastest way to learn, short of looking over Paul F. Berliner's shoulder.
NOTE: At this time international orders cannot be placed through the Kalimba Magic online store. GoDaddy, the Kalimba Magic web host and governor of our shopping cart, assures me that they are close to offering international sales, but not yet! SO, if you are from somewhere besides the US and Canada, you can purchase this collection of songs via email.
By the way, we are now working on transcribing traditional Mbira tunes over to the Treble kalimba. This is a more complicated project, as the mbira is a three octave instrument and the Treble has just over two octaves.
Hugh Tracey G minor Karimba
Three Original Pieces for G minor Karimba
Over the last several weeks, I've been giving instruction in the G minor karimba in the Thursday Tips of the Day—it's time to make music for this irresistable instrument more widely available. Introducing 3 Original Pieces for the G minor Karimba!
This download is available only from Kalimba Magic, for only $5, and includes PDF tablature, KTabS and MP3 files. You don't need to own KTabS to learn these pieces, but running these tunes on KTabS makes learning fun and easy.
By the way, this download does not include the piece from the Ethiopiques, which I am giving away.
AMI Sneezewood Amadinda
The Rare
African-tuned Sneezewood Amadinda Xylophone
You can read about the Amadinda in this Kalimba Magic newsletter article from last summer, and you can read about sneezewood, a great African hardwood for marimba bars in this Kalimba Magic newsletter interview of Christian Carver from September 2008.
Put them together, and you have the rare Sneezewood Amadinda, now available from Kalimba Magic!
Hokema Sansula with Remo Head
New! Hokema Sansula with REMO Drumhead: The Sansula Renaissance!
While the Hokema Sansula is a wonderful and angelic instrument, the heads are made of a very thin paper which is prone to breaking if you drop it or beat on it like a drum.
A few years back, Peter Hokema started to offer the Deluxe Sansula, which is mounted on thin goat skin. This instrument was more robust, though it did cost a good $100 more than the regular Sansula. Now, Peter Hokema has come out with a new solution. He has teamed up with the people at REMO, and they now make a Sansula with a REMO synthetic head, called the Sansula Renaissance.
The cool thing about this Sansula is that you can get a "wah wah" effect by pushing down on the kalimba and slightly stretching the Remo head (don't try this on the other Sansula models—you'll be sorry!). I haven't tried dropping it, but it seems robust to me! The Sansula Renaissance is available for the special introductory price of $190.
Discover the world of kalimbas at http://www.kalimbamagic.com
Shop for kalimbas and accessories at the Kalimba Magic Shop