Anyone play Kalimba?

[LarryS]

My partner randomly bought me one recently,a 17 key hollow board from Amazon. Arrived in tune and sounds great. Playing kalimba is quite a challenge though .

Here I'm playing Brahms's Lullaby on it.

 

[John Colter]

You're doing a lot better than me! I bought a Kalimba a few months ago. Mine is an Aiersi - solid Koa, hollow body, 17 keys. It sounds lovely, but I find it difficult to play a scale using both thumbs alternately, while moving outward from the center. It seems counter intuitive. I confess I haven't persevered.

I must take it out of its bag and try again.

John Colter

 

[Kalimbera]

I'd like to welcome all Kalimba lovers o Kalimba Forum and Kalimbera, our Forum and web-store

https://kalimbera.com
https://kalimbaforum.com

 

[TerryWhite]

The kalimba is an African folk reed instrument, played simply by "stroking" the reeds with your thumbs and creating a sound from the wooden resonator box.

 

[John Colter]

The term "Reed instrument" is usually used to describe wind instruments. The kalimba has tines rather than reeds and is classed as a lamellaphone, a member of the plucked idiophone family.

John Colter

 

[Croaky Keith]

I was looking at maybe getting a concertina - until I realised just how expensive they are, (even pre used) - so I took another look at the Kalimba, (which I first saw/heard Joo playing in/on the Seasons threads).

Needless to say I ordered one, a Kmise 17 tine that should arrive sometime in the next 2 weeks - & I signed up at the Kalimba Forum to see what they are like.

It's good to try something new every now & then.

 

[John Colter]

I'll be interested to see how you get along with it, Keith. I confess, I find it not at all intuitive to play. My lack of application and self-discipline doesn't help, but I think it's a case of old dogs, new tricks. It does sound very pleasant, and would be a most complementary instrument for the ukulele.

 

[Ms Bean]

I was looking at maybe getting a concertina - until I realised just how expensive they are, (even pre used) - so I took another look at the Kalimba, (which I first saw/heard Joo playing in/on the Seasons threads).

Needless to say I ordered one, a Kmise 17 tine that should arrive sometime in the next 2 weeks - & I signed up at the Kalimba Forum to see what they are like.

It's good to try something new every now & then.

I got my daughter a Kmise 17 tine one for Christmas. I haven't bothered tuning it yet, as it is acceptable out of the box. I 'tabbed' about seven Christmas songs during the holiday (numbers only, I didn't bother with the notes length).
The Kmise came with a pickup you can attach with a sort of suction cup, but we don't have any toys to plug into and see what the result is. All in all, I like the sound and the volume too. So far we've been playing in C major/A minor.
I don't play it often, but I think it's good fun.

 

[Croaky Keith]

I'll be interested to see how you get along with it, Keith. I confess, I find it not at all intuitive to play. My lack of application and self-discipline doesn't help, but I think it's a case of old dogs, new tricks. It does sound very pleasant, and would be a most complementary instrument for the ukulele.

Being an old dog myself, I'll try & remember to come back & let you know, John.

Sounds real nice, I wonder if they make then an octave higher, or lower.

I believe they make 21 tine boards, that goes down to G3 below middle C, (from what I have read, so far).

I got my daughter a Kmise 17 tine one for Christmas. I haven't bothered tuning it yet, as it is acceptable out of the box......... All in all, I like the sound and the volume too. So far we've been playing in C major/A minor.
I don't play it often, but I think it's good fun.

Good to know, thankyou.

 

[MJB]

I've got a 17 key Kalimba arriving today. Because uke, guitar and bass are not enough.

 

[Croaky Keith]

My Kmise 17 arrived today, couldn't wait to have a go on it, find it quite intuitive really, so I think you need to stick the note names on it to get you started, John.

 

[John Colter]

That's good to hear, Keith. I'll take mine out of it's bag and have another go! They do produce a very pleasant sound.

I've remembered another reason (or excuse?) why I didn't persevere with the Kalimba - my cat has a very nervous disposition and he seemed to find it quite disturbing. Everybody is a critic!

John Colter

 

[Croaky Keith]

My cat didn't like harmonica!

 

[Jan D]

A little inspiration for those of us who enjoy the kalimba ... April Yang playing Somewhere Over The Rainbow. (She has a YouTube channel, if you like this one and want to see more of her videos.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-EtES9sQgo&list=PLfL-t2IoaOKjBI8e1Kx7tg9Vx60KvtsWu&index=10

 

[Mivo]

I collected a few over the years. It was the instrument I spent time on before I got into ukuleles some eight years ago. Except one, they are all Hugh Tracey / AMI kalimbas: a 15-note G-tuned one (with soundbox), three chromatic kalimbas with tines on both sides (two with sound boxes, one without - was an oversight I ended up with two identical ones), one treble kalimba with 17 notes, three karimba models (one in Lotus tuning, another in a minor tuning, and one in an African tuning with little brass rings). I also got one of the Chinese 17-note models in C tuning that have been around for a few years, by Gecko (found it disappointingly quiet compared to the Hugh Tracey ones, but it was also substantially less expensive). Oh, and I have a Sansula Deluxe, with just 9 notes, but with a beautiful sound (but I feel it was too expensive and too much of a one-trick pony).

I have been meaning to sell most of these, but since they take up little space, I still have them all. I acquired them over the span of years, not all at once. Also went over board with ukuleles and then trimmed the heard. Luckily with banjos this has not happened! Only have one of those with a second one being built - no plans for more. No, really. They are not very collectible, just too large and expensive.

 

[glasspipe79]

Got a used hugh tracey and my wife got me a gecko last christmas. Both are great kalimbas!

 

[merlin666]

Occasionally I look at Aklot Amazon store and they have a few cheap ones. So tempting. But I already have too many instruments that I don't play regularly so not too difficult to resist.

 

[Sporky]

My cat didn't like harmonica!

I tried harmonica and alto recorder and my cat went crazy also! Makes them a no-go, especially the harmonica. He wasn't a fan of synthesizer either on speakers. But doesn't mind Ukulele at all

 

[Sporky]

I collected a few over the years. It was the instrument I spent time on before I got into ukuleles some eight years ago. Except one, they are all Hugh Tracey / AMI kalimbas: a 15-note G-tuned one (with soundbox), three chromatic kalimbas with tines on both sides (two with sound boxes, one without - was an oversight I ended up with two identical ones), one treble kalimba with 17 notes, three karimba models (one in Lotus tuning, another in a minor tuning, and one in an African tuning with little brass rings). I also got one of the Chinese 17-note models in C tuning that have been around for a few years, by Gecko (found it disappointingly quiet compared to the Hugh Tracey ones, but it was also substantially less expensive). Oh, and I have a Sansula Deluxe, with just 9 notes, but with a beautiful sound (but I feel it was too expensive and too much of a one-trick pony).

I have been meaning to sell most of these, but since they take up little space, I still have them all. I acquired them over the span of years, not all at once. Also went over board with ukuleles and then trimmed the heard. Luckily with banjos this has not happened! Only have one of those with a second one being built - no plans for more. No, really. They are not very collectible, just too large and expensive.

I've been wanting a kalimba for many years but always hesitated. I didn't want to get a cheap one I won't love. But I also don't know how much nicer the "nice" ones are. How do you feel about chromatic ones, and solid body? I'd love to have a small versatile kalimba doesn't have to be loud as I'd only be playing for myself...

 

[rafter]

I've been wanting a kalimba for many years but always hesitated. I didn't want to get a cheap one I won't love. But I also don't know how much nicer the "nice" ones are. How do you feel about chromatic ones, and solid body? I'd love to have a small versatile kalimba doesn't have to be loud as I'd only be playing for myself...

I wanted to get a nicer kalimba, but I just ended up getting a cheaper one to see how I like it. I'm glad I did. It's fun, but I don't spend a ton of time on it. Like you, I thought it would be nice to get a solid body version so it would be quieter. For similar reasons, I sometimes wish I could just get a solid or hollow body (ala Gretsch guitars) uke, just to play quietly. I know Pono makes some electric, but I just want something light and non-electric, with a thin, possibly chambered body for quiet playing. I digress. My advice is just get a starter kalimba since all those years could have been spent learning how to play. And if you want better, you can gift the cheap one, although they don't take a lot of space if you decide to keep it.