News and Announcements

A new eBook with material for this exotic minor tuning Get the A minor Karimba Download Here is a true story. Lex, a Tucson friend of mine who has hit upon hard times, visited us at Kalimba Magic the other day. Months earlier he had given away his beloved African-tuned karimba so he could put a bad relationship which had included that karimba into the past. But he really needed to make music, and he came over to see what instrument I had that might speak to him. While we were talking, we wandered past where Sara was editing the new A minor Karimba book, with an A minor karimba next to her that she would

This eBook is for the Kwanongoma-style 15-Note Karimba in F Get the New Nyunga Nyunga Download Now! The mbira nyunga nyunga, or the 15-Note karimba in F has only been around in this form since 1960. Thousands of Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) and South African youth were taught the traditional songs on this delightful instrument at the Kwanongoma College of African Music. And, remarkably, it could well be that more than half of the notes on this instrument (and most of the songs for it) are essentially the same as what is thought to be the original tuning of an 8-note instrument invented some 1300 years ago. And now, we are

Humans have transformed the kalimba over millenia. The kalimba can also transform us. The kalimbas that we play and see today seem like very modern instruments, but the kalimba is rooted in many centuries of history and tradition. As is normal for humans, we have been busy remaking the kalimba and transforming these instruments into something new. It’s a process that has been going on for millenia, and people continue to transform the kalimba into something ever more amazing. But why do all of this work, continually remaking the kalimba? In part, because of love. Those who love the kalimba have always sought to improve upon it. In part, because the

These Tips will help you discover new scales on your kalimba – and their format fits perfectly on your phone! Click to Purchase the new Easter Hymns Download Learning your kalimba’s musical scale is very important to understanding your kalimba and the music it can make. The scale is like a magic key that will open many doors. But what if I told you that your kalimba, just as it is, plays several different scales? Each scale is like a universe of musical possibilities. We have ten tips for you about how to use four different scales, on the 17-Note in C, in your music. Each of these four scales

Reinvent your Kalimba, Re-energize your Kalimba Playing Click to go to Tuning Page   If you ever get to the point where you feel your kalimba is old hat, or you cannot think of anything new to do on it, you need to come back to this article. By retuning your kalimba to a new tuning, you basically get a new instrument that presents you with a new world view and plays new music, all for the price of… the five or ten minutes it will take for you to retune your kalimba. You would be amazed – these tunings sound so rich and amazing and different! Just listen to

A Melody Using the Upper Octave of the C Scale A Box Lotus and a Regular Lotus Karimba This series of tips is about scales and how useful they are for the kalimba player. We used the opening melody of the Bach Minuet in G as an example of how scale segments are used in melodies. Now that we have had a look at the upper octave of the C Major scale, I take you back to the Minuet melody.   (By the way, the tablature here is for a 17-Note Kalimba in C, but the concept and even the tablature is the same for many other types of kalimbas.)

The Upper Octave of the C Scale A Box Lotus and a Regular Lotus Karimba This series of tips is about scales and how useful they are for the kalimba player. Do the math. You have a 17-Note kalimba. There are 8 notes in one octave of a scale. For the C Major scale, which starts on the very lowest note on your kalimba, you will be able to get a higher octave version of that scale. And here it is now!   (By the way, the tablature here is for a 17-Note Kalimba in C, but the concept and even the tablature is the same for many other types

The G Scale A Box Lotus and a Regular Lotus Karimba This series of tips is about scales and how useful they are for the kalimba player. The G major scale usually has an F# in it. However, if you play a G scale – 8 tonally consecutive notes – on a 17-Note Kalimba in C, you will have an F natural, or a flatted 7th in the otherwise major scale. In music theory terms, this is the G Mixolydian mode. To me, that flat 7th is the first step toward minorness, and it introduces a funky sort of feel.   (By the way, the tablature here is for a

Edging Up and Down the A minor scale A Box Lotus and a Regular Lotus Karimba This series of tips is about scales and how useful they are for the kalimba player. This is a great sort of exercise to help you gain familiarity with your kalimba. Each measure only has three different notes – for example, in the first measure, it goes A B C B A. It even rests a little extra time on that last note, to give you a chance to prepare for the next part. And what is the next part? This exercise, which I call a “spider,” inches up and back down… and then