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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

The Alto Kalimba is different from the standard 17-Note Kalimbas that currently dominate the internet Here is how they are different, and why you might want one: The Alto Kalimba only has 15 tines, instead of 17 BUT the Alto tines are wider than the 17-Note tines (5mm compared to 4mm). …which means the Alto Kalimba is physically larger than the 17-Note If you have large hands, you are going to find the Alto to be a better fit And, the larger tines? I find are easier to play. The larger box size makes for lower notes, and a different kalimba sound (in G rather than in C). And the

People who bought the Chromatic Kalimba Download have been waiting for months for all the sound recordings to appear. They are there now, and the links in your PDF will magically work now! The Chromatic Kalimba is a bit of a bear. You see, the front side notes are the same as the Alto Kalimba notes, and the back side are the chromatic notes that are usually skipped on most kalimbas.  It is hard to use those back side notes, because you cannot see them. BUT – the front side is just exactly like the Alto kalimba – you can totally avoid the confusion of the back side notes just

Christmas Songs on Kalimba Christmas carols are one of my favorite things to do on the kalimba. I have spent thousands of hours working out dozens of carols, and I’ve written the arrangements out in tablature for a whole bunch of kalimbas. Here is a list of kalimbas you can play carols on, arranged from the simplest kalimbas to the hardest and most capable kalimbas: 8-Note Diatonic Kalimba in C 10-Note Kalimba in C Moon-10 in Silver Moon Tuning Moon-10 in Gold Moon Tuning Hugh Tracey 15-Note Alto Kalimba Hugh Tracey 17-Note Treble Kalimba 17-Note Kalimba in C Chromatic Alto Kalimba Chromatic Treble Kalimba Each week, until we run out