Kalimba Magic NEWS

Catania 12-Note Kalimba Inspiration
Ideas and Examples

This video is an artistic piece of music on the Catania 12-Note Gourd kalimba, backed by Stephen Wiele's excellent paduak guitar, and the Cloud Nine marimbula (bass kalimba). The music is based on one of the exercises from my new book 12-Note Exercises.

The 12-Note Exercises book is filled with music that can be expounded upon by the kalimba player to create music on a par with this piece, but you don't have to buy the book, you can learn to play this piece for free from the Tip of the Week archives.

Four of the tines on the above Catania 12-Note kalimba have been colored with a Sharpie marker (can be removed with alcohol wipes) to help me find my way. The upper nine notes of the 12-Note correspond to the lower nine notes of the Alto kalimba, in terms of "degree of the scale."

In other words, the major scale is played in the same relation to the painted tines on this kalimba as it is on the Alto, even though the two kalimbas are in different keys. The four shaded tines in the tablature from the 12-Note Exercises book match the four painted tines on this kalimba, which helps me transfer the musical knowledge from the page to my kalimba.

I usually don't paint outgoing Catania kalimba tines, unless the customer requests this, or unless I know it will help them (such as when they are getting the kalimba and this book at the same time). The Hugh Tracey kalimbas, on the other hand, come from Africa with their tines painted.

The video below is the same Catania 12-Note Gourd kalimba model, but it is retuned to an E minor pentatonic scale. I love the tuning so much that I had to document this kalimba before sending it off to its new owner:

Different tines are painted on the pentatonically tuned kalimba than on the previous video's tuning. Why? The customer who asked for this kalimba also bought the Pentatonic Kalimba Book - half of which is in G major and half of which is in G minor.

Even though his new kalimba is tuned to E minor, the customer can read the tablature from the G minor side of the book because the tines are painted the same way - except for the 12th tine, on the far left. There are only 11 tines on the Hugh Tracey Pentatonic kalimba.

So what's the point?

• There is a lot of cool music you can make with the 12-Note kalimba in its standard tuning, and painting those four tines will help.
• Kalimba Magic can work with you on what you want or what you need musically - a different tuning, for example. And we can set up your kalimba so that it can still use existing instructional materials.

And, of course, you can find a nearly comprehensive listing of resources available for the 12-Note kalimba at the 12-Note Learn How page on the Kalimba Magic web site.

Top of page