Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Alaska Pic Instructions

Playing kalimba is a pure joy to me. But some people don't have or can't grow long thumbnails, and when they play the metal kalimba tines with their thumb flesh, the interaction will eventually be dominated by pain. I've seen it - people are so mesmerized by the magic of the kalimba that they don't even think or care about their thumbs until the blisters start to grow.

A few years ago, my partner Deb discovered that Alaska guitar fingerpicks work great as kalimba thumb picks, and I've been selling them in the Kalimba Shop for quite a while.

Some folks have bought Alaska Pics but have not been clear on how to use them. You need to have a bit of thumb nail to slide through the front slot of the pic, and the front plastic must slide under your thumb nail. The bit of thumb nail you have then acts to keep the Alaska Pic firm - if you don't do this, the Alaska pic will not be firm and will slide up and off your thumb when you pick with it.

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