Mark Holdaway

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Mark Holdaway

TIP: Straight Left-Right Playing and Syncopation

You can syncopate by leaving out notes The easiest thing to do when you play kalimba is to set up a regular rhythmic pattern, alternating right-left-right-left (or the opposite), but this will not result in syncopation.  Here is a quick changeup you can make to this regular pattern to create some great syncopation. This tablature shows a sample pattern on the Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba, but you can do this sort of pattern on any kalimba at all. Feel free to change the exact notes. In Measures 1-3, we establish the alternating right-left pattern, and Measure 4 changes the pattern to make a “bookend”, indicating both that the pattern is over, and that the whole

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Learn to play the “Kalimba Solo for Lotus”

Tablature and Staff Notation for the Entire Song Click to go to the Lotus Solo product page   Thousands of people have been wanting to learn to play SaReGaMa’s “Kalimba Solo for Lotus” on the Lotus Karimba, and if you are one of those people, I’ve got good news for you. In 2009, New Age musician SaReGaMa celebrated the birth of his daughter, Lotus.  At night he would play her to sleep with improvisations on his Hugh Tracey Karimba.  The Karimba had started out its life in a traditional African tuning, but by the time it got to SaReGaMa it had fallen out of its original tuning, and he began to invent new tunings. 

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

Goshen Kalimbas

Save 13% on Goshen Kalimbas with the coupon code CAT13 The Goshen kalimbas are made in the USA.  They are beautiful, versatile, very soft on the thumbs, and not very pricey – hence, they are a great value.  They come in 8, 9, 11, 15, and 17 note varieties and can cover Alto, Treble, and all Karimba tunings, including SaReGaMa tunings. Listen to a six minute tour of six Goshen Kalimbas.

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

African-tuned Karimba

Save 16% on Hugh Tracey Karimbas with the coupon code HT16 The African-tuned Karimba has a tuning and note layout that are thought to be over 1000 years old, and it has a large repertoire of traditional African music.  If you are looking for an authentic African experience, I encourage you to check out this remarkable instrument. Take this sonic tour of several different African Karimba tunings and models.

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

Hokema Sansula

You can save 15% with the coupon code Sansula15 The Hokema Sansula has an exotic and mystical New Age sound.  It comes in several different tunings and has several instructional books.  These are great instruments to sit on your coffee table as a conversation piece for guests to marvel at, or for incidental music at a yoga studio, or for setting the mood for meditation.  With this particular kalimba, simple patterns can easily produce beautiful sounds. But with a more disciplined approach, the Sansula can expand  to more complex music. Listen to a comparison of: Pocket Sansula, Sansula Renaissance, and Deluxe Sansula.

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba

You can save 16% on the Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimbas with the coupon code HT16 The Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba is the workhorse kalimba in my personal collection.  Kalimba Magic has more instructional books and downloads for the Alto Kalimba than any other instrument – I have been so enamored of this one for so long, that I have written more for it than for any other kalimba. Truly one of the most capable kalimbas you can get anywhere, it is a great instrument for you to learn on.  Listen to a Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba with a guitar.

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

Pentatonic Kalimbas

Save 30% on Hugh Tracey Box Pentatonic Kalimbas with the coupon code PENTA30 Ancient peoples all around the world have traditional pentatonic scales.  Hugh Tracey found that about 40% of the traditional kalimbas he documented had pentatonic scales.  I find that when I play on a pentatonic kalimba, I feel different – I can imagine being in a different time and a different land. Listen to Hugh Tracey Box Pentatonic Kalimba. Listen to Catania 6-Note Pentatonic Kalimba.

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Featured Kalimbas
Mark Holdaway

SaReGaMa Lotus, Freygish, Air Karimbas

You can save 13% on the SaReGaMa tuned Karimbas with the coupon code CAT13 SaReGaMa is the performance name of a very gifted new age musician who creates not only amazing kalimba music, but also invents the tunings and note layouts that support this music.  Kalimba Magic is pleased to offer three of SaReGaMa’s special tunings: the Lotus tuning, the Freygish tuning, and the Air tuning.  There are downloads and a book for Lotus, there is a full length download for Freygish, and the Air karimba has a free 12-page download. Listen to the Lotus and Freygish tuned karimbas together.

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