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Becoming conversant with octave pairs is an important part of learning your instrument The 8-note kalimba only has one octave pair Do you know where the octave pairs are on your kalimba? The octave is the most fundamental interval in essentially any music. Octave harmonies are not rich, but they are powerful. If your kalimba has eight notes or more, you likely have one or maybe even several octave pairs. Learning which note pairs are an octave apart, as well as how to use the octaves in playing, are essential to becoming a good kalimba player. In the simplest of terms, an octave is the interval between two notes at

A great kalimba, 30 years of my kalimba playing experience, and considerable love Every time I ship a kalimba, I play it to make sure it is all just right.  And as I play it, I make a little prayer, that the person who gets this kalimba will come to love and understand their little instrument.  But I do much more than just pray.  I send out as many keys to the doors of understanding as I can.  We stack the odds in favor of success. When you receive your kalimba, you get some important things along with the instrument. Take a look at the numbered items in the accompanying photo:

Shifting the emphasis by one note gives your music a new emotional color Can you play the major scale on your kalimba?  “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do?” Your tuning might not permit this scale – the pentatonic scales and the Lotus tuning are both missing some notes.  Many kalimbas can play the major scale.  Find that scale on your kalimba now if you can. Just by shifting the starting point of the scale by one note, we are going to show you how to create a totally different scale on your kalimba.  Instead of G major on the Alto, we will play a type of A minor

Stylizing this archetypical mbira music makes it simple to play on Alto Kalimba For the first 15 years I played kalimba, something about it confused me.  Even though my Hugh Tracey Alto kalimba came in a box that said it was an African instrument, when I played the kalimba, the music that naturally came out was more like folk and rock and classical music.  My kalimba played the music that I knew and loved and understood. Americans get very little exposure to African music. For the last ten years, I have been slowly moving toward getting to know, and understanding, African music, with the goal of being able to (someday) play

Hugh Tracey’s son, Andrew, is “THE” expert on Karimba Music Andrew Tracey with a photo of his father Hugh recording an unidentified mouth bow player Andrew Tracey, ethnomusicologist, musician, and now-retired director of ILAM (the International Library of African Music), is a noted authority on karimba and mbira. He did much research and study in the field on these two instruments. Andrew has written several seminal scholarly papers on these instruments giving us much of what we know and understand about them today. A few months back I sent him my new karimba book “About 30 Traditional African Songs for the Hugh Tracey African Karimba” and here is his thoughtful review.

Sound recordings for eight different types of karimbas in a wide variety of tunings Click to transfer to Karimba Shop Page This is a companion article to the post “Introduction to Karimba” where I explain the history and kinds of karimbas in the world. This information will help you learn more about the karimbas that Kalimba Magic offers.  In this post, I provide sound files for many of our karimba models so you can hear them side-by-side.  I also provide links to the product pages in the Kalimba Magic Shop.  If you are in the market for a karimba this is the go-to place for comparing the different models by

This article explains this rich but confusing instrument Click to open the Karimba Shop page The first thing that is confusing about the karimba is that people assume its name is a misspelling of “kalimba.”  When I say “karimba,” I am referring to the traditional instrument that Andrew Tracey described as the “original mbira” from 1300 years ago. The name “karimba” can also refer to one of the new tunings we have derived from this ancient instrument. It certainly can be confusing:  does this instrument have 8 notes, 9 notes, 13, 15, or 17 notes?  Yes to all!  What key is it tuned to?  Great question!  Let’s not view these

Learn to play a kalimba version of the piano ostinato in Coldplay’s “Clocks” Click the link at bottom to hear Coldplay’s “Clocks” An ostinato is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice.  Almost everybody knows the piano ostinato that provides the foundation for Coldplay’s compelling song “Clocks,” written a decade ago.  Evocative and haunting, this song seemingly brings to life a dream world.  (Click on the link below this post to hear it.)  While I’ve enjoyed this song since it came out, it never occurred to me to play it on kalimba until recently at a music therapy conference.  One of the attendees started playing “Clocks” on