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
Three Modes in Traditional Karimba Music
Africans and Europeans Both Used This Cool Trick Generally, when you encounter a kalimba, it is usually in a particular key. The Alto usually comes in G major. The Bb Treble comes in Bb. The 17-Note African-tuned karimba comes in A (unless we retune it), and the 15-note karimba (aka mbira nyunga nyunga) comes in F. One usually plays a G major kalimba in G; but there are other ways. You can actually pick a different note on the kalimba and make that one be the root note. You establish a particular note as the root note by emphasizing it as “home base.” You can emphasize a note as “home base”