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What is the most important note on the kalimba? Understanding the use of the root note The most important thing you need to figure out when you pick up a new kalimba is:  “where is the One?”  By the “1”, I mean the root of the scale, the key of the kalimba, the note that you consider “home base”, and probably the most important note on the kalimba. (To complicate matters, there are usually multiple correct choices for which note you want to be the root – for example, you choose one note to be the root, and you are in G minor – you choose a different root note,

The method you will learn in this series of tips will help you understand any kalimba’s tuning   All of the specially tuned kalimbas we sell come with a card indicating the note names and note numbers of each tine. The letters are of obvious use – they tell you what note to tune each tine to if any ever go out of tune. But if you have been mystified by the meaning of those numbers, this series of tips will help you learn how to use them. We present to you a laboratory of three different pentatonic kalimba tunings. The numbers guide us on our journey of understanding these kalimbas and

For many kalimbas, you play the scale by alternating L-R-L-R and moving outward The alternative left-right pattern required to make a scale is one of the essential movements you can make on your kalimba, and you should learn this!  On the kalimba, scales are not the easiest thing to do because you need to cross over from one side of the kalimba to the other, and you need to do so without loosing your place.  However, there is a trick. By the way, this scale tablature is for the Alto kalimba.  Look at each block ball on the tablature, from bottom to top, and trace down to the note name

Usually when you pluck a tine, it sustains for about 5 seconds – but you can put a stop to that! One of the charms of the kalimba is how the tines ring clearly and slowly fade away.  You cannot control exactly how long the tone will last, it has its own natural decay, like plucking a strong on a harp.  Playing kalimba is a bit like playing piano with the damper open. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sometimes you want a note to be staccato – ie, played very short.  Why?  Sometimes the music just calls for a short or abrupt note.  Sometimes you need to

An upper octave pattern can be shifted to the lower octave, but it’s handedness is reflected This is something important to understand.  Just because you can play a pattern in one octave doesn’t mean that it will be easy in the other octave, because it will be a mirror image of the other octave’s pattern.  Strangely, your brain may have to totally relearn the phrase in a different octave in spite of the similarities in the music. The insite in this tip – that when you shift a phrase up or down an octave, you need to learn to play the mirror image of the pattern you started with –

Because two notes separated by an octave are on opposites sides of the kalimba, you can play them at the same time! The two previous tips illustrated how to play the upper octave G major scale and the lower octave G major scale on the Alto kalimba.   This tip combines the upper and lower scales and plays them at the same time. The upper octave scale on the Alto kalimba goes left – right…. while the lower octave scale goes right – left.  This means that while your left thumb is playing the middle G, your right thumb can play the low G.  When the right thumb is playing the

Many kalimbas – such as the Alto, the Treble, and the Pentatonic 11-Note kalimbas – have a range of two or more octaves.  In my mind, this is where the playing really gets to be interesting.  This tip relates the lower octave scale to the upper octave scale on the Alto kalimba. The Alto kalimba tablature here starts at the bottom and works up.  The first measure shows the upper octave of the G major scale, while the second measure shows the lower octave of the G major scale.  The two scales have the exact same note names: G A B C D E F# G (you can tell by

Do any of your tines make a sound that annoys you? Learn to fix that! To keep your kalimba sounding good, learning to tune is the most important thing. After that comes learning to fix the odd buzzy tine so that each note on the instrument can ring true. This tip points out the resources for removing the buzz and returning your kalimba to sounding clear. When I  listen to other people’s kalimba recordings, I am often annoyed by nasty buzzing sounds.  I think “If only they knew how easy it is to fix those buzzes!” Before I record a kalimba, I touch up on the tuning and make sure

You can learn an instrument with modest daily work – but do pick it up every day The kalimba is one of those amazing instruments that magically sounds good even if you don’t know what you are doing, often right out of the box.  However, if you practice, you can become really good at playing.  I have compiled some thoughts on my experience of practicing on the kalimba with the idea of helping you with your kalimba journey. If you are going to “get good” on the kalimba, you should try to play it a bit every day. Do it for 15 minutes a day. Once in a while, you will probably