August 30, 2006
Kalimba Tuning Contest Winner

Kalimba Tuning Contest Winner: JIM GATES

The "standard western" tuning for an alto kalimba happens to be the G Ionian Mode (the familiar major scale: DO-RE-MI-FA-SOL-LA-TI-DO, beginning on the G note). Here are the standard tunings for the Alto (top) and Treble (below):

Now, look at a piano keyboard and you'll notice that there is an intervening note (G#) between G and A (DO and RE). The interval between G and A is known as a whole step. Also notice that there is no intervening note between B and C (MI and FA), nor any intervening note between F# and G (TI and DO). These intervals are called half steps.

Starting on the kalimba's lowest G and playing every alternate note (i.e. "strumming" the bottom G and the adjacent 3 notes up the right side of the kalimba) creates a G Major 7th chord (G-B-D-F#). Major seventh chords sound "happy" or "sweet", which is the general feeling one gets from hearing a standard-tuned kalimba.

The major scale can be modified into seven different modes, each having a different sound depending on where the half steps occur.

The mixolydian mode tuned kalimba (below) lowers the F#'s to F's. Now the half steps occur between B and C (MI and FA, same as before), and between E and the changed note F (LA and TI). Strumming four notes up the right side from the lowest G (G-B-D-F) creates a G dominant 7th chord. Kalimba chords in this tuning can sound rather "dream like", and some new and interesting intervals are possible. OR, you could opt to play in the key of C (ie, C Ionian mode).

Download the KTabS format file of this song

Go to the Tip of the Day where KTabS was explained

Above is an example of what you can do in this tuning, done up in KTabS. To get a trial version of KTabS, go to the KTabS website.