kalimba

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:12 am

1). Anybody here play kalimba? I have a little gourd one that I got on eBay a long time ago but it only has 4 notes and sucks.

2). How do you pronounce 'kalimba'? I always just say "thumb piano" when I'm talking about it, because I can never figure out how to say it right.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:19 am

Cranberry 4501 wrote:1). Anybody here play kalimba? I have a little gourd one that I got on eBay a long time ago but it only has 4 notes and sucks.

2). How do you pronounce 'kalimba'? I always just say "thumb piano" when I'm talking about it, because I can never figure out how to say it right.

I like them. I've heard them called a "thumb harp." I like the ones with about 5 notes for each thumb. I've heard good African music played on the kalimba. If I hadn't read the label, I would have thought it was a marimba that I was listening to.

missy · Post by **missy** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:26 am

I'd like to get something like this someday:

http://cloudninemusical.com/Marimbulas.html

Missy

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:53 am

I played thumb piano years ago. I had a small one, which was sold as a kalimba, but which I would describe more as a mbira, that had a lovely sound. You could do a lot of neat effects doing finger vibratto on the three tone holes. It also had a full two-octave range. Later I had a larger one, about 12" maybe, with maybe 10 or 12 notes. I made it from a kit from Hughes Dulcimer Company. It had less sustain -- more like a marimba whereas the other was more like a vibraphone.

It's really a fun instrument; very relaxing.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:55 am

Very cool. I use to have a bass harmonica. When recorded right, they sound just like an upright bass. This Marimbula sounds like an upright bass too, according to the description. Played through a good mic, I'll bet it would substitute nicely for an upright bass. I love the low tones of marimbas and kalimbas.

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:51 am

I like kalimbas also. I went on an ebay kalimba buying frenzy awhile back, so I now have them all over the place. And, of course, I never leave them just the way they were made to play. I remove all of the pieces of metal that vibrate (reeds?), and I rearrange them to my liking. I like to have the notes arranged in a linear manner, just like on a piano, as opposed to alternating the notes from hand to hand, as kalimbas are usually laid out. That way you can see the interval that you want to play. By removing 6 of the 17 vibrating reeds on my Hugh Tracey African kalimbas, you can separate the reeds and arrange them to play a two-octave, pentatonic scale. This is great because you don't have to know what you are doing with this scale. All of the notes go together, and you just can't make a mistake. It is also easy to lay out the reeds for unusual scales, as well as the standard chromatic scale.

I think that the Hugh Tracey Kalimbas, made in South Africa, are among the best of the commercial kalimbas. They are rather expensive in the music stores, but you can usually find a second hand one on ebay.

rh · Post by rh » Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:57 am

Lorenzo wrote:This Marimbula sounds like an upright bass too, according to the description. Played through a good mic, I'll bet it would substitute nicely for an upright bass. I love the low tones of marimbas and kalimbas.

you should be able to hear a lo-fi recording of one being played here:
http://www.musicalafrolatino.com/pagina_nueva_4f1.htm

they are still seen in Cuba as part of the Changüi bands that play mostly in the Eastern side of the island

there's a group in Jamaica, the Jolly Boys, which uses marimbula and have had releases in the US.

http://www.thejollyboys.com/

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:19 am

Cool! I would have thought that was a cajon.

I have a nice kalimba that i bought in some African museum in Washington DC. An African student saw me plunking it and told me: "in my country the bushmen play these things, then they sing!"

rh · Post by rh » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:21 am

glauber wrote:Cool! I would have thought that was a cajon.

it's sort of both -- usually the box is struck along with the metal keys, so it functions as both bass and drums.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:31 am

Wow. I think I could actually make one of those things that Missy linked to.

The only marimba's I've noticed around here are mere toys.

missy · Post by **missy** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:39 am

here ya go, Fly......

http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/bk.htm

Missy

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:39 pm

missy wrote:I'd like to get something like this someday:

http://cloudninemusical.com/Marimbulas.html

Missy

Met a gal with one of those... it was WONDERFUL! I would love to have one!!! It was fun to play, and had the most beautiful sound... and easier to carry than my regular bass.

Post by **Dale** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 3:29 pm

I collect Hugh Tracey Kalimbas. My favorite is the alto model.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 4:05 pm

Dale, I have a question.

Are some of those note pushies suppose to be blue? I saw a few used instruments on eBay and another site (I can't remember, it might have been Lark in the morning, or elderly instruments...) and I assumed that some were blue and some werent because paint had worn off...

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 7:47 pm

Can you imagine having a piano with all white keys? Having both white and black keys allows you to visualize intervals, such as the fifth or an octave. On a kalimba it is helpful to mark certain notes (vibrating steel reeds), such as the tonic and octave. Because the kalimba alternates notes on the scale from one side to the other, I find it confusing. I have a Hugh Tracey alto kalimba just like the one the Dale has pictured, but I have changed the reeds so that the lowest note is on the far left and the highest note is on the far right. Laid out in this fashion, I have three pairs of blue reeds, which serve to structure the notes, like the black keys on the piano. This allows me to play the kalimba as I would play the piano. I am lost when I try to play the standard kalimba.

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