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How do you feel when you pick up a kalimba? Warning: Joyful kalimba can be habbit forming Playing kalimba can effect each person in a unique way.  The interaction asks us to commit both to our instrument, and to the song that we are trying to help emerge into the world.  We have listened as players describe what the playing of a kalimba does for them physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The act of making music develops the relationship between a kalimba player and his or her instrument.  And it leaves something behind as well. Just listen to some of our customers.   “Getting ready to play kalimba makes me feel

Quincy Nichols Shares How the Karimba Has Become His Spiritual Companion This is the very first Bb Treble kalimba I made about 10 years ago [Editor’s note: Quincy is a student of the African karimba, and he writes poetically and eloquently here, celebrating his experience playing the instrument.] The karimba is my friend… a patient, patient friend. There is wisdom in the karimba – it’s an old friend helping to lead me back to myself. It is a layered instrument, helping me to uncover and express thoughts, feelings, emotions, and dreams I’ve hidden from myself. As an aspiring musician and creative person, the African karimba has helped me to find

A “Just So” Story, with thanks to Rudyard Kipling This is the very first Bb Treble kalimba I made about 10 years ago My very first kalimba was a Treble. I had actually just come from a friend’s house who had an Alto, and we’d all played the Alto and loved it – but when I went to the drum shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts back in 1986, they only had the Treble, with the 3rd note of the scale in the lowest tine (and not the root note, as in Altos). I bought it, but somehow I never really bonded with the instrument. A few years later, I got an

Chill, Listen to the playlist that matches your kalimba key, and jam along! Click a playlist below and jam along! My life changed when I lost my record turntable 20 years ago – I basically stopped listening to music. For me, this turned out to be a good thing, because the music-generating radio station “KMRK” started broadcasting 24 hours a day inside my head. I am always creating new music, or recycling and recomposing Katy Perry. But that isn’t the point of this post. Rather, I have discovered Spotify (maybe late to the party, but better late than never!) And I have rediscovered my love of listening to recorded music

Playing unmatched kalimbas in succession can make beautiful and unusual music The D Treble kalimba, the Bb Treble kalimba, and the G Treble kalimba Why do people acquire kalimbas in different keys? To be able to support specific songs they or others sing, or to be able to play with other musicians with flexibility. Sometimes people buy a kalimba in some particular key just because they really love its sound. But can you use kalimbas in different keys together? By creating a simple song that uses different-keyed kalimbas, not played together but in succession, yes you can!    Listen to the music that plays automatically when you load this page. The

Have you ever wanted to get clear on the differences between the various treble kalimbas? Blue dots are roots of the major scale, purple are roots of the relative minor scale One of my best contributions to the kalimba world (in my humble opinion) is the concept of the Bb and D Treble kalimbas. These are alternative ways of structuring the standard G Treble to make it more like the Alto kalimba, but pitched higher. Making a Treble kalimba more like an Alto makes the Treble easier to play and simpler to understand. The Alto’s note layout is more logical, and any song that you can play on the Alto

We provide free tablature, for all three Treble Kalimba setups, of both simple and advanced versions of the famous song Edelweiss, blossom of snow The song Edelweiss from “The Sound of Music” is a perfect little melody for the Treble kalimba. The first three notes of the song soar up beyond the root note to the 9th. You could play this song on an Alto, and you would have to do it in the lower octave of the instrument. You shouldn’t, though, because it sounds so beautiful when played higher up, on the Treble. The standard G Treble and the Bb Treble both have a few notes above the top