This is the original 52 Exercises & Songs collection for the Hugh Tracey HotShot-11 (aka “Hugh Tracey Celeste Diatonic Jr.”)… but formatted and done up as a very nice eBook that leads you through playing the HotShot-11 in all of its glory.
Get the HotShot-11 Download Today!
Most kalimbas start on “Do” (as in “Doe, a Deer”)… the key note of the kalimba. The HotShot-11 is rooted in G… but the low note is D, the 5th, or “So” (as in “Do Re Mi Fa So”). This will slow you down a great deal if you don’t understand it… but if you do understand it, the low 5 in the bass makes this kalimba more powerful.
This is essentially an 8-note kalimba… three extra notes that go lower. Why? Because those extra low notes help a great deal in the way of covering melodies (Think: “Amazing Grace”, which starts on the low 5). The low 5 also helps you with chords and accompaniment.
Understanding the HotShot-11 Tuning:
But this is also a stepping stone to the larger, more complicated Alto Kalimba! That is, everything you can play on the HotShot-11, you can also play on the Alto Kalimba without blinking an eye!
Contents of the HotShot eBook:
- exercises to help you play music on one side… and the other.
- tricks to get you to integrate both thumbs together.
- complex and interesting patterns you can make from simple but integrated thumb stroke patterns.
- the main scales available on this kalimba.
- chords: basic triads, inverted triads, and 7th chords.
- a great many songs, in melody only form, then with chords and melody, then with more complex accompaniment:
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain
- Are You Sleeping, Brother John?
- My Country, ‘Tis of Thee
- Simple Gifts
- Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
- Beethoven’s Ode to Joy
- Beautiful Dreamer
- Bach’s Minuet in G
- This Land Was Made For You and Me
- Plus several original tunes designed just for this kalimba!
Are You Sleeping Brother John? – with counterpoint and harmony!
Pixie Song