kalimba

Post by **Nanohedron** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 7:57 pm

Cranberry wrote:How do you pronounce 'kalimba'?

Likembe. Or mbira.

"Kalimba" (kah LIM ba) is a name that was, if I recall, invented for a particular commercially produced thumb piano, and the name stuck overall in the West.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 9:02 pm

Doug_Tipple wrote:Can you imagine having a piano with all white keys?

Yes, I can imagine that. And I can imagine Walden playing it.

Post by **Dale** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:17 pm

Cranberry wrote: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...

Typically, the Hugh Tracey instruments have some keys painted, just to help the player quickly ID the note she's trying to play.

missy · Post by **missy** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:11 am

Doug Tipple wrote:
"Can you imagine having a piano with all white keys"

Sure! I play mountain dulcimer! Diatonically fretted. Now, I play in the key of D, A, G or Em mostly, so I have 1, 2, or 3 "black keys" available - but if I was tuned to the key of C, I would be playing with only all white keys.
Absolutely NOT a problem. And for the kalimba, I'm sure you can get used to what is where, without having a visual reference of whole and half steps.

Missy

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:42 am

Thanks Missy. BTW did you see Kathy's post about a PA get together in May?

missy · Post by **missy** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 7:13 am

yep - saw the post, Fly..... so, you gonna stop in Cincy on your way home (hint, hint, hint)?????

Missy

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:36 am

missy wrote:Doug Tipple wrote:
"Can you imagine having a piano with all white keys"

Sure! I play mountain dulcimer! Diatonically fretted. Now, I play in the key of D, A, G or Em mostly, so I have 1, 2, or 3 "black keys" available - but if I was tuned to the key of C, I would be playing with only all white keys.
Absolutely NOT a problem. And for the kalimba, I'm sure you can get used to what is where, without having a visual reference of whole and half steps.

Missy

Missy, I think that you may have missed my point. In my reference to the piano keyboard, I probably should have made an additional restriction to demonstrate the need for visual markers. I shoud have said, "Can you imagine a piano keyborad with all white keys and all of the keys the same size?" Of course, it is easy to play on the piano and never use any of the black keys. However, the black keys, even though not played, serve as a visual reference. For example, you soon learn that middle C is immediately left and adjacent to a pair of black keys in the center of the keyboard.

Fretted strings instrument, such as the guitar, use the same kind of markers on the fretboard, usually at the given positions of 5, 7, and 9. I played the classical guitar several hours a day for many years, and, yet, I still need visual markers in the form on dots on my guitar neck, or else I tend to get lost, landing on the 9th fret instead of the 10th, which I had intended.

One of the reasons that playing the non-fretted string instruments, such as the violin, cello, etc., is so difficult is that there are no frets to determine pitch and no visual references on the fingerboard. You have to learn to control your finger placement with only your ear and years of practice.

missy · Post by **missy** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:04 am

Oh - I agree with you (and probably did read your message incorrectly)...

But I don't play by "sight", I play by sound, even though I have a fretted instrument. Or at least, that's my goal and I accomplish it about 90% of the time.
I know many that have played a diatonic fretted instrument (and learn those fret patterns for reference) and then move to a chromatic instrument and no longer have those patterns for reference. Some (like my DH, Tom) add sticky dots so they can find the familiar pattern. Others (Lee Rowe, for instance) say they do NOT look at the fret board at all - in fact, they will mess up if they do. They instead play by sound alone.

Now, that being said, I'm having a bowed dulcimer made that will have no frets so I can get all those accidentals. However, I'm going to have some type of fret markers put on the instrument so I can at least play it from the beginning. But my goal will be to not LOOK at it when playing, to get the notes by sound and touch.

BTW - I may be mistaken, but weren't some harpsichords made with all the keys the same color - although maybe not the same size???

Missy

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 9:21 am

I heard one of these Kalimba gadgets on an album once and I have been trying to remember whose album it was since yesterday.
I now believe it was one of Joan Armatradings early albums and the song with the kalimba might have been "Opportunity".If I have this right ,the short kalimba piece came in right at the end of the song and was played by Georgie Fame or maybe Alan Price.
I've just been down to the local record store but no Joan Armatrading albums were available and the song is not on any that I do have...
Can anybody take me out of my misery and either confirm or deny my little theory?

Slan,
D.

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:48 am

dubhlinn wrote:I heard one of these Kalimba gadgets on an album once and I have been trying to remember whose album it was since yesterday.
I now believe it was one of Joan Armatradings early albums and the song with the kalimba might have been "Opportunity".If I have this right ,the short kalimba piece came in right at the end of the song and was played by Georgie Fame or maybe Alan Price.
I've just been down to the local record store but no Joan Armatrading albums were available and the song is not on any that I do have...
Can anybody take me out of my misery and either confirm or deny my little theory?

Slan,
D.

I have a couple... I'll try to locate them. I liked her stuff.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 10:54 am

missy wrote:BTW - I may be mistaken, but weren't some harpsichords made with all the keys the same color - although maybe not the same size???

I've never seen one like you describe, but it's very common to see them with the colors reversed (natural notes in black and accidentals in white).

Chang He · Post by **Chang He** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 5:14 pm

Also the album "Flirting with the Edge" by John Whelan and friends <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... c">link</a> is Celtic music in which a kalimba figures prominently on several tracks. I am listening to the CD again right now after having been reminded while writing this post, and the kalimba leads off tracks 2, 3, and 6 so far. It's a good CD overall actually.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 7:20 pm

Nanohedron wrote:
Cranberry wrote:How do you pronounce 'kalimba'?
Likembe. Or mbira.

"Kalimba" (kah LIM ba) is a name that was, if I recall, invented for a particular commercially produced thumb piano, and the name stuck overall in the West.

I know that the emphasis is on the second syllable, but I don't know whether to say "lim" with a lax vowel like in "big" or with a "long" vowel like in "beet".

I am probably the only person on earth to whom it matters, though.

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