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One of the great mbira players Klara Wojtkowska is an accomplished musician and has contributed an array of interesting articles to Kalimba Magic. She has recently been abroad studying mbira and living in Zimbabwe. “Forward Kwenda’s inspiration is deeply spiritual and in a way he sees his role as a musician who channels from a realm beyond our physical grasp. It has been said of Forward, ‘It is almost impossible to believe that one person, playing one time, could make so much music with two thumbs and one finger! Of course, Forward Kwenda, considered by many to be the greatest living mbira player today, says that his spirits play the

How to renew someone special with cascades of the sansula’s easy, melodious sonorities   My lover had had a hard day. On the phone she told me that she had worked for 10 hours as a caregiver and she had been home for about 30 minutes. She was very tired. Her cat was sick, and she was worried about that too. I went to see her and brought my sansula to play. It was precisely what was needed, with its soft and mysterious and gorgeous sounds that seem to almost make themselves.   (Already familiar with them, my sweetie had had one many years ago, bought in Germany where sansulas

Yes, but for most of us it takes some practice Two people on one kalimba According to general understanding, we can only really concentrate on one thing at a time. But I know that this isn’t actually true. There are two of you (at least!) inside your head – a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere. Most of the time these two sub-brains work together. But our two thumbs are quite capable of doing quite different things from one another.  Probably the most interesting music on kalimba happens when the two thumbs are working independently, but in a coordinated manner.   Before we get to the kalimba lesson on this

The Mbira-style Treble Kalimba makes it simple The mbira dzavadzimu, and the Mbira-style Treble Kalimba (MBTK) without the mbira’s lower left row of notes When I get 10 requests for something, I know it’s time to sit up and listen. Total strangers to Kalimba Magic were finding their way to my eShop and sending requests for some strange new kalimba setup that was suddenly insanely popular on YouTube. The kalimba on the Youtube video was not in its factory setting; it was a 17-note kalimba that had been modified by the player.  I could put the Hugh Tracey 17-note Treble Kalimba in that tuning. So indeed, I could fulfill those

Working this dialectic can expand your playing amazingly I was speaking last night with my neighbor Geo, when he said:  “Somewhere between the party animal I was in my marriage and the zen meditator I’ve been in my current relationship… is the real Geo.” I could see the axis, drawn in space before our eyes: on one end of the imaginary “number line” was Geo as Beer-Drinking-Good-Timing-Party-Animal… and at the other end was Geo as Peaceful-Meditating-Man. And Geo’s quest right now was to feel along this axis and understand where he belongs. In my opinion, he exists all along that axis, occupying different places at different times, as everyone does. And the very same

The Fastest Way to Learn to Play Kalimba Visit the Instructional Downloads Page in the Kalimba Magic Shop As you know, it’s hard to resist the beauty of, and the urge to make, kalimba music; that’s why you’re here! Over many years I have written dozens of books to help a lot of people who want to learn to play these instruments. It’s an ongoing project, as each different kalimba needs its own books, and new kalimba tunings and layouts are being invented (and not just by me) all the time. It ends up being a big part of my life’s calling, because nobody else in the world is creating

This classic O’Carolan tune sounds so sweet on the Celtic D Download the two page PDF for “Si Bheag Si Mhor” on Celtic D Karimba Everyone has their favorite Celtic song. My favorite is “Si Bheag Si Mhor” – pronounced “she beg, she more,” and means “Little Fairy, Big Fairy.” The song consists of two variations of the melody, and the first one sounds like the “Little Fairy,” while the second one is a bit grander, and sounds like the “Big Fairy.” This song is attributed to the blind Irish harpist and singer Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) as his first composition, but the melody is actually older.   Here is tablature

Two simple chords and a trick for using them together Try marking these tines green and red to help you play the two chords While the Celtic D Karimba is made for, and excels at, all sorts of jigs and reels and waltzes, I’m going to show you in this first lesson what it loves to do the most: a very simple two-chord progression. You don’t even need to know what a chord progression is  – you just follow the colors on the tines. I suggest you mark the tines of these two chords with two contrasting colors of Sharpie markers. The marks help make playing the chords very simple and

Save 25%, New Products, New Tunings, and New Services We have a 25% discount coupon code for some of our most popular non-electrified kalimbas. We have a new middle eastern tuning for the Alto kalimba and some great new paired tunings for playing Pentatonic and Alto kalimbas together. We have new kalimba accessories. And for the holiday season, we’re offering gift wrapping service with kalimba purchases.    Now through December 5, 2017 you can save 25% on select Hugh Tracey kalimbas without electrical sound pickup jacks using the coupon code UNPLUG25. Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba Hugh Tracey Treble Kalimba Hugh Tracey Box Pentatonic Kalimba Hugh Tracey B flat Treble Kalimba