Tips

This traditional mbira song transfers well to karimba Click to download the full PDF tablature for “Mahororo” “Mahororo” is usually played on the mbira dzavadzimu (commonly called the mbira), and is one of the classic songs that fit the chord progression described by Andrew Tracey in his seminal 1973 paper “The System of the Mbira” which studies in depth the ages-old mbira playing of the peoples he and his father Hugh studied for decades . This implies that “Mahororo” is probably one of those “old songs” – meaning it may be something like 500 – 800 years old. Ivodne Galatea pointed out that it could be played on the karimba.

Yes, but what if you don’t feel like using your right index finger? You can use the thumb slide-off technique! Buy the African Tuned Karimba, save 13% with coupon code CAT13 I find the addition of the right index finger to the two thumbs to be essential to playing African music, and in expanding the capabilities of kalimbas in general.  However, it typically feels unnatural at first, no matter which approach you take.  A great many people resist using their (non-thumb) fingers on these instruments. If you just don’t want to (or cannot) use a forefinger, what are you to do? It’s not just beginners who feel awkward twisting their

Free Tablature to help you play the music in this YouTube video on your Alto Kalimba Click to download the PDF tablature for this exercise When you look at a kalimba, you see a tiny, unassuming instrument. But if the possibilities of the kalimba are considered all at once, they can boggle the mind. An easy way to reduce the overwhelm when starting to learn something new is to pare down the number of tines you use, making the kalimba into a simpler instrument.   If your Alto kalimba only had six notes rather than fifteen, it would be much easier, right?  This video will teach a very useful trick –

This traditional mbira song transfers well to karimba Click to download the full PDF tablature for “Mahororo” “Mahororo” is usually played on the mbira dzavadzimu (commonly called the mbira), and is one of the classic songs that fit the chord progression described by Andrew Tracey in his seminal 1973 paper “The System of the Mbira” which studies in depth the ages-old mbira playing of the peoples he and his father Hugh studied for decades . This implies that “Mahororo” is probably one of those “old songs” – meaning it may be something like 500 – 800 years old. Ivodne Galatea pointed out that it could be played on the karimba.

The “karimba style” use of the right index finger puts it over the top of a tine, plucking down Buy the African Tuned Karimba with coupon code CAT13 for 13% off How do you play the kalimba?  Mainly, you use your two thumbs, but you should not overlook the fingers.  It turns out there are multiple ways to use the right index finger, and you can adapt these techniques to a wide variety of kalimbas. The technique we show here is the “karimba style” use of the right index finger.  The “mbira style” (discussed in the previous tip in this series) used the right index finger coming from below the

This traditional mbira song transfers well to karimba Click to download the full PDF tablature for “Mahororo” “Mahororo” is usually played on the mbira dzavadzimu (commonly called the mbira), and is one of the classic songs that fit the chord progression described by Andrew Tracey in his seminal 1973 paper “The System of the Mbira” which studies in depth the ages-old mbira playing of the peoples he and his father Hugh studied for decades . This implies that “Mahororo” is probably one of those “old songs” – meaning it may be something like 500 – 800 years old. Ivodne Galatea pointed out that it could be played on the karimba.

Get this free tablature that illustrates the use of accents in your kalimba playing Click to download the PDF tablature for this exercise When you play kalimba, you should always be willing to accent special melody notes, and let the other support notes come in at a lower volume.  Why is this important?  Not always, but often, melody notes will be fairly high in an instrument’s range, and accompaniment notes will occur in the middle or at the low end.  A guitar has a three and a half-octave range.  The piano has a seven-octave range.  On both of these instruments, you have a big difference in the pitch of the

Playing strong can help you learn; playing softly can help you discover the “feel” of the music Don’t you hate all those internet ads that start with “Try this one weird trick” and then promise that if you do, it will change your life in a profound way? Well, I have something for you that may seem like a weird trick, but it is really a great little tool that indeed has had a profound effect on my own kalimba, karimba, and mbira playing. People tend to play kalimba music with every note at the same volume level.  But I can point to three big benefits you can get from

The “mbira style” use of the right index finger puts it under the tine, flicking upward Save 13% with the coupon code CAT13 when you buy the African Tuned Karimba How do you play the kalimba? It’s a thumb piano, so mainly you use your two thumbs!  The Brazilian masters like to use four or six fingers, playing the kalimba as it sits in their lap – but I don’t teach that style. That’s because my kalimba playing is a lot about movement of the body while playing, and if you hold the kalimba in your hands and play with your thumbs, you can get up and walk, run, or