Christmas Carols for Alto and Chromatic Alto Kalimbas

The Alto Kalimba is different from the standard 17-Note Kalimbas that currently dominate the internet

Here is how they are different, and why you might want one:

• The Alto Kalimba only has 15 tines, instead of 17
• BUT the Alto tines are wider than the 17-Note tines (5mm compared to 4mm).
• …which means the Alto Kalimba is physically larger than the 17-Note
• If you have large hands, you are going to find the Alto to be a better fit
• And, the larger tines? I find are easier to play.
• The larger box size makes for lower notes, and a different kalimba sound (in G rather than in C).
• And the Alto Kalimba is a Hugh Tracey kalimba, which are (were, alas, as they are not being made anymore) widely considered to be the best kalimbas.
• And and and and… there is also a Chromatic version of the Alto Kalimba, which opens the doors of musical possibility wide open! Read to the end to learn more!

If you are new to the Alto Kalimba, the “Easy Christmas Carols on the Alto Kalimba” download is a great place to start. Why? Because most everyone knows how the Christmas Carols go. (And if you don’t, the download comes with live links to the MP3 sound files for each song.) The arrangements in this book start out at “Level 1” – meaning easy, and advance to levels 3 and 4 to really show you what the kalimba is capable of.

The Easy Christmas book has these songs:

• Silent Night
• Up on the House Top
• I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
• Angels We Have Heard on High
• The First Noel
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
• Silverbells
• Go Tell it On The Mountain
• Go Tell it On The Mountain, v2
• Emmanuel
• O Christmas Tree
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• The 12 Days of Christmas
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Joy to the World
• Jingle Bells
• Jingle Bells, Accompaniment
• Jingle Bells, Combined
• Silent Night, v2
• The First Noel, v2
• The First Noel, v3
• Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella
• Away in a Manger, American
• Deck the Halls
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
• We Three Kings
• Good King Wenceslas
• Angels From the Realms of Glory
• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
• O Little Town of Bethlehem
• Away in a Manger, English
• Carol of the Bells

The Easy Alto Christmas Book is very similar to the 17/C Easy Christmas Book, but for a 15-Note in G.

A large part of my life’s work has been to design exotic kalimba accompaniment. Simple harmonies, full chords, counterpoint, and melody plus full accompaniment. Taking simple melodies and dressing them up on kalimba is what the Advanced Christmas Carol book is all about. Advanced Carols for the Alto is available as a download or as a hard copy book.

I would advice you to get this book after you have been playing seriously for a year. You will have some of the concepts you need to get the most out of this book.

The 20 advanced arrangements in this book / ebook include:

• Angels from the Realms of Glory
• Angels We Have Heard on High
• Away in a Manger (AMERICAN)
• Away in a Manger (ENGLISH)
• Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
• Carol of the Bells
• Deck the Halls
• Emmanuel
• Fairest Lord Jesus
• The First Noel
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Good King Wenceslas
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
• Jingle Bells
• Joy To the World
• Oh Christmas Tree
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• Silent Night
• We Three Kings
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Carol of the Bells on Alto Kalimba

The Chromatic Alto Kalimba is a really cool concept. Almost every kalimba is missing a bunch of notes. Typically, a kalimba will have the white notes on the piano, but will completely skip over the piano’s black notes. The Chromatic Kalimba has those black notes… but on the back. So, if you ignore the back side notes (which is way easier than learning to play them) the kalimba defaults to an Alto Kalimba.

And then, as you start to learn the back side notes, you can take on carols that require chromatic notes. There are two carols in the “Crash Course for Chromatic Alto Kalimba”:

“Carol of the Bells” on Chromatic Alto Kalimba.

“Coventry Carol” on Chromatic Alto Kalimba.

Easy Christmas Carols – “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” on Alto

What is the difference between Alto Kalimba, Treble Kalimba, 17-Note Kalimba in C?

Why Kalimba Tablature?

Why Kalimba Tablature? Greensleeves!