December 25, 2024

Most kalimbas are in just one particular key. But what do you do when the song requires notes that are out of that key? Of course, you can get a Chromatic Kalimba, with the “sharps/flats” on the back side. But there is a simpler technique also available, especially if the song just temporarily modulates to a different key, such as in “Winter Wonderland”: The verses are all played on the G Alto Kalimba. The bridge is half in the key of Bb, and half in the key of D. I play the Bb part of the bridge by picking up a Bb Treble Kalimba.  The second half of the bridge,

It was back in 2002 when I shocked everyone in the Tucson music scene by showing the true extent of the magic that is possible when you play the kalimba with great skill and great emotion. (Here is a more recent version of the Christmas Kalimba Medley, played on a Kalimba Magic 17-Note Bamboo kalimba.) Back in 2002, I performed 12 favorite Christmas Carols in 12 minutes. The waves of beauty and joy kept coming, overwhelming everyone’s expectations of what the kalimba could do. The music kept climbing in intensity, accelerating in tempo, until the final victory lap of “The Christmas Song” rang true with its unsung words: “Although it’s

The years was 2002, before I started Kalimba Magic. I performed a 12 minute medley of 12 different Christmas Carols, on my Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba, to an audience of about 200 people at the TKMA Holday Party in Tucson Arizona. All I will say is that every one of the audience members will have remembered the magic of that music for the rest of their lives, barring severe memory loss. That extended moment is where Kalimba Magic really started, though the Kalimba Magic BUSINESS would not come to life until 2005. Over the years, I have notated my full advanced arrangements for a wide variety of kalimbas – 15-Note