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One of the key things about Kalimba Magic that makes it unique is the diversity of instrument brands, models, tunings, and setups. It turns out there are only 40 different basic models of kalimba in our inventory, but that number is multiplied hugely by the different ways we change the kalimbas. Why do we change them? Each different tuning plays different music, and each has a different feeling. Sometimes I’m the one who discovers the cool tuning. Sometimes it is a customer or another kalimba player. Sometimes the customer asks if I have anything in G minor, and then I go and invent a specific G minor tuning for some

Did you ever hear the theme song from the TV show “Weeds”? Every episode featured a different version of the 1950s social commentary song by Malvina Reynolds, “Little Boxes”. Less known is her song “Magic Penny”, which has the profound lyric: “Love is something if you give it away…. you end up having more!  It’s just like a Magic Penny – hold it tight and you won’t have any. But lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many, they’ll roll all over the floor!” And I have to admit, that is a large part of my strategy at Kalimba Magic – to share with the world, to give Kalimba

When it seemed that nobody was interested in purchasing my Kalimba Magic business, my goal became: sell off all the inventory and shut down. And it was going pretty well, too! Thank you to the kalimba community for helping me out. But then, when Anthony expressed his interest  in buying Kalimba Magic, I was almost out of certain crucial kalimbas: the Hugh Tracey Alto + PU, the Treble + PU, the Moon-10, and a few others. I immediately set the inventory of those instruments in the online shop to zero to preserve the stock. Now that Anthony is running the business, we are happy to say we have a few

In traditional African music, almost every kalimba has a buzzy sound. The buzz is part of the instrument’s natural sound, and there are a great many ways the Africans make buzzers to envelope the otherwise pure sound of the kalimba. Anthony’s mother-in-law, Suzy, has fallen in love with all the different kalimbas. She has been one of Kalimba Magic’s best customers over the last few years. Now that Anthony owns Kalimba Magic, she has mainline access to all the kalimbas! Suzy loves the sound the kalimbas make, and the way they feel in her hands.  She also likes the karimba buzz, which is missing from most modern kalimbas. So she

A huge part of playing the kalimba is learning to play the right notes at the right time. You can learn this be standing next to someone who is playing kalimba… but you might need to ask them to slow down so you can understand which notes to play. Another way to do this is by playing a closeup YouTube video of a kalimba player using the same kalimba as you, in the same key. It can help to slow down the video (click the SETTINGS gear at the bottom of the video, and set the PLAYBACK SPEED to 0.75 or 0.5 to help you see the correct tine to

I am pleased to announce that the store of Kalimba Knowledge, kalimba books, and kalimba music downloads will be available into the foreseeable future: Anthony Ghimenti will be purchasing my business Kalimba Magic. He will be assisted by kalimba enthusiasts Melissa Ghimenti (his wife) and Suzy VanDerMolen (his mother-in-law). Left to right: Anthony Ghimenti, Suzy VanDerMolen, Melissa Ghimenti, Sadie being held by Melissa, Lexie the fuzzy white dog, my wife Su Washington, and me, Mark Holdaway. For the last 19 years, I have had the joyful opportunity of making my living around one of my favorite things in the universe: playing the kalimba. Of course, I couldn’t just twiddle my

Melissa Ghimenti, spouse of Anthony Ghimenti (new owner of Kalimba Magic as of October 14, 2024) has undertaken a project of creating kalimba duets from two different songs played simultaneously. She writes: “I am so excited about learning how to notate music in KTabS! I desperately want to play duets on kalimbas with a friend to experiment playing two different songs and making a new mashup.” Ah, but that is where KTabS comes in. Sometimes, it is hard to play one song when a different song is playing. However, KTabS doesn’t care! It will play the two different songs simultaneously, no matter what they are. Use the Tie All Views

The Magadi Olive-9 Kalimba is a largely unappreciated deal. They are pretty rugged, have pretty cool special affects via the “wah wah” sound you get by tilting the kalimba body over a flat surface (like a stack of papers on a table top).  And now, we are presenting a whole load of special tunings to help you fine-tune the sound you want to get out of one of these special kalimbas. And these exotic tunings are only available at Kalimba Magic. Why Retune Your Kalimba? Some instruments, such as guitar or piano, give you all the notes you might possibly need for virtually any song. A small 9-note kalimba, on

I just watched a YouTube video on Autism and Monotropism that blew my mind open. Monotropism is a theory of autism that posits that most ASD behaviors stem from the autistic mind’s preference to focus on just a few things at a time, rather than the many things that neurotypical people tend to focus on simultaneously. I think I understand how learning and playing kalimba is such a fulfilling activity… especially for people on the autistic spectrum! I have not been diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), but it runs in my family. I’m a nerd, I’m a teckie. I’m good at focus; I’ve dedicated 19 years of my life