Chromatic Kalimba Guide
Updated September 3, 2008
Welcome to the Hugh Tracey Chromatic Kalimba Guide page. The Hugh Tracey Chromatic Kalimba has a very unique design, and it is not a simple instrument to use, so we've created this page to help you along with learning how to use your chromatic kalimba.
First, some other resources you should know about:
- In Search of the Elusive Chromatic Kalimba (article in KM newsletter, Apr. '08)
- More News of Chromatic Kalimbas (article in KM newsletter, Jun '08)
- Sharon Eaton demonstrates her chromatic kalimba design in video
- Visit KTabS - Randy and Sharon Eaton's Kalimba Tablature Software site
- Purchase a Hugh Tracey Chromatic Kalimba from the Kalimba Magic Web Shop
The front 15 notes are almost like the 15-Note Alto kalimba - but with all the notes in the key of C (i.e., the F#s in the Alto kalimba have been replaced here by F naturals). The range is the same as the Alto. The Hugh Tracey Chromatic kalimba comes in both box-mounted and celeste or board-mounted versions, and both come automatically with a pickup.
Chromatic Tip 1: One Note Layout Among Many
The Hugh Tracey Chromatic kalimba is a new instrument. Sharon Eaton has made the the note layout that ships from Africa work, but there are very likely other ways of laying out the chromatic kalimba tines, which will come to light in the next several months. This kalimba IS idiosyncratic with its bi-directional system, so you might find this system difficult at first, but any chromatic kalimba system will be difficult at first, so try sticking with it. But if it just seems too difficult, sit with the problem for a while and see if you can figure out a different way of arranging the notes.
Before you get too frustrated with the chromatic kalimba design, I invite you to read through my article on chromatic kalimba design, which goes through several different possibilities and lands on this one as something that is reasonable. There may yet be something better out there, but for the present, we are going forward with this design and this tuning--because it works.
Chromatic Tip 2: The Chromatic Kalimba Tuning
The above figure shows the tablature for the first few bars of Beethoven's song Für Elise as arranged by Sharon Eaton. The white tines in the center represent the "white notes" on the front of the kalimba. The gray tines on either side represent the "black notes" or "chromatic notes", which are on the back of the Hugh Tracey Chromatic Kalimba. You could make a 3-D model by cutting the two strips of black notes and suspending them right behind the white notes. More precisely, just behind the G on the far right of the white tines, there will be a Gb. And right behind the white E on the right will be a black Eb on the back of the kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 3: Mark the Whole Note Tines that Have Chromatics
The very fact that the front side has 15 tines while the back side has only 11 tines indicates that not every note on the front has a chromatic note half a step lower on the back side. If you are familiar with the keyboard (i.e., the "finger piano"), you know that C has no chromatic note one half step down - if you go half a step lower than C, you get B—B natural, i.e., B which is not a chromatic. Also, F has E just a half step lower, also not a chromatic. The E and the B are both found on the front side of the kalimba. Which makes things tricky.
Mark the diatonic tines which have a back side chromatic note one half step
lower.
In order to know which tines have a chromatic note right behind them, I mark these notes with a little dot using a Sharpee marker. C and F do not have chromatic notes behind (underneath) them, so they have no dots. All other notes on the front—A, B, D, E, and G—do have dots because they all have a flatted version on the back side.
Chromatic Tip 4: Adjust the back side tines so that they are positioned exactly behind their partner note on the front
As I have said, the back side or chromatic tines are behind their partner note on the front. For example, on the front side is G and behind this tine on the back side is Gb. The challenge is for your finger to find that back side tine without the help of your eyes. To help you get accustomed to finding those notes without looking, you can scoot the back side chromatic notes until they are more precisely positioned behind their partner notes on the front side.
You probably want to move the chromatic tines around on the back
so that the flattened notes really are right behind their unflattened
counterpart notes.
The black notes on the piano aren't distributed in a uniform way, and neither are these. Holding the whole note side up and the chromatic side down, ypu will see on the left the four adjacent notes E, G, B, and D, all marked with dots indicating partner chromatic tines exist on the back (per Chromatic Tip #3). So bunch together these four chromatic notes on the back. Behind the F and the C on the left side of the front, there are no black notes, so we leave spaces with no chromatic notes behind these notes on the back side. There will be four more chromatic tines in the very center, Gb, Ab, Bb, and Db, with G, A, B, and D in front. Further up the right side on the front, the F and C have no flats, leaving A with a lone flat behind it. Finally, on the upper right of the front, E and G both have flats, making a lone pair of flats on the upper left of the back side of the chromatic kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 5: Practicing Right Hand Only
Kalimba tablature runs from the bottom of the page up to the top. The tablature has a space for each tine. Tablature for the chromatic kalimba represents the front 15 whole note tines with the white tines, while the gray-shaded tines represent the chromatic tines that are on the back side of the physical kalimba.
Tablature showing simple exercise that teaches the right hand the chromatic notes
Download the KTabS file for Exercise 1
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
In this exercise, we make a little bit of music that will teach the right hand how the chromatic notes are layed out on the front/right and back/left. Play this over and over until your right index finger learns how to find the notes. Remember you can always move the chromatic notes around a bit more— until they make total sense to you.
Chromatic Tip 6: Practicing Left Hand Only
This exercise is just like the last one, but it uses the left hand instead of the right.
Tablature showing simple exercise that teaches the left hand the chromatic notes.
Download the KTabS file for Exercise 2
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
Chromatic Tip 7: Practicing Left and Right Hands Together
This exercise starts out like the previous one with a left thumb note, followed by the left finger note on the back, one half step below the first note, and then following that with the first note. This pattern repeats four times, and then shifts over to the right for measures 3 and 4. However, the second and fourth patterns in measures 3 and 4 start on the back left side. This is not so simple!
Left and then right - but the chromatics are not so easy!
Download the KTabS file for Exercise 3
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
Chromatic Tip 8: Practicing the Chromatic Scale
This chromatic layout makes descending lines the easiest to play. The scale descends from G chromatically down to the middle G. If you marked your chromatic tines with dots: if there is a dot on a front tine, the following note will be right behind it, but if there is no dot on a tine, the following note will be on the front, but on the opposite side (left or right) of the kalimba.
Tablature showing the chromatic scale.
Download the KTabS file for Exercise 4
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
Chromatic Tip 9: Practicing the Chromatic Scale - Down An Octave
This is just like the previous tip, but it goes down another octave. In order to get really good, you should try to play chromatic scales as smoothly as you can. Going down is easy, but can you go up too?
The lower octave of the chromatic scale.
Download the KTabS file for Exercise 5
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
Chromatic Tip 10: Major to Minor
When I play the kalimba, it is a physical-intuitive thing. Which is why I don't really get the chromatic yet, I am stuck in my head trying to understand this instrument. However, there is hope for me in that Sharon Eaton is starting to play and write for the chromatic kalimba in an intuitive way. She has been writing for the 8-Note lately, which is a simple kalimba, freeing her up to be more intuitive in her playing. Well, she took a leap with this intuitive playing, and landed in the middle of a new chromatic song called New Horizons.
Ween you play a diatonic kalimba, you can play in G major, or in E minor, and you can even switch back and forth. However, you cannot switch from G major to G minor. But that is exactly what you can do with the chromatic.
Sharon Eaton's new song for the Chromatic Kalimba, New Horizon.
Well, the chromatic kalimba, in standard layout, is in C major on the front, with all the sharps or flats on the back. The natural thing to do is to play in C major. However, this piece starts in C minor, which uses E flat and A flat from the back. But it is a melodic minor, so it also uses the B natural (ie, the major 7th) from the front side. But delight of delights! Sharon switches into a C major at measure 33 (though the previous chromatic note was in measure 24), and then goes back to C minor at measure 49 (well, actually at the pickup in measure 48). This is a simple, yet powerful and effective, use of the chromatic kalimba. With the exceptions of measure 66-72, usually only one or two chromatic notes are used, and the song ends with the picardy third (ie, a major 3rd, E, after the piece has been in the minor).
Download the KTabS file for New Horizon
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
If YOU have written some music for the chromatic kalimba, we would love to put it up on our web site to help other people get into the new possibilities of this amazing but difficult kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 11: The Star Spangled Banner
In some ways, this is the perfect song to do on the Chromatic. If you are just playing melody, you can almost play this song with a diatonic (ie, the Treble gets the high notes you need). There is just one pesky note, a raised 4th, that you need.
Line one of the melody for the Star Spangled Banner.
Download the KTabS file for the first line of the Star Spangled Banner
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer.
If YOU have written some music for the chromatic kalimba, we would love to put it up on our web site to help other people get into the new possibilities of this amazing but difficult kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 12: The Star Spangled Banner, full song
Last week, I just gave you the first line just one wee little chromatic note. Here is the melody for the full song.
Line one of the melody for the Star Spangled Banner.
Download the KTabS file for the melody of the full Star Spangled Banner.
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer. OR, if you find this program useful, maybe its time to purchase the full program. For $30, its a great bargain.
If YOU have written some music for the chromatic kalimba, we would love to put it up on our web site to help other people get into the new possibilities of this amazing but difficult kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 13: The Star Spangled Banner, harmony
Jimmy Hendrix aside, I have to admit that I stil have problems with this song. When I attend a baseball game, I still cannot bring myself to stand, or place my hand over my heart, for my love goes beyond these symbols. I will have to write out the South African national anthem next, for I am truly a citizen of the world. While I intend to never do anything that would call my allegience to my beloved country into question, my allegience is not to the flag or the national anthem, but to the God which is beyond country or flag, the God of all nations. Which reminds me of Finlandia - unfortunately neither that nor the South African national anthem require chromatic notes.
Anyway, THIS little bit of tablature shows how lovely this song really is with harmony!
Line one of the Star Spangled Banner with melody and harmony.
Download the KTabS file for line 1 of the Star Spangled Banner with harmony.
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer. OR, if you find this program useful, maybe its time to purchase the full program. For $30, its a great bargain.
If YOU have written some music for the chromatic kalimba, we would love to put it up on our web site to help other people get into the new possibilities of this amazing but difficult kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 14: The Star Spangled Banner, full with harmony
On the other hand, if you DO want to do the Jimmy Hendrix thing, each chromatic kalimba comes with a pickup, and you can do some pretty crazy things.
The image is just for the first line of the song with harmony. If you want the full song, download the KTabS file below.
Line one of the Star Spangled Banner with melody and harmony.
Download the KTabS file for the Star Spangled Banner with harmony.
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer. OR, if you find this program useful, maybe its time to purchase the full program. For $30, its a great bargain.
If YOU have written some music for the chromatic kalimba, we would love to put it up on our web site to help other people get into the new possibilities of this amazing but difficult kalimba.
Chromatic Tip 15: Another Tuning
Early on I stated that the "standard tuning" for the chromatic kalimbas was just one of many possible ways to set up the instrument. AMI and Kalimba Magic chose this tuning because it was what Sharon Eaton had actually been able to make music with. If she can do it, so can you or I (in principle at least!).
So, this tuning came out of a wish and an error. The wish was my own. In "standard tuning", the front 15 notes of the chromatic kalimba are in the key of C. Now, I like playing Alto kalimba in C (ie, with the two F#'s retuned to F natural). BUT I am really familiar with playing the Alto kalimba in G, WITH those F#. When you play in C, different songs are within reach. For example, the Star Spangled Banner really likes being in C, because the melody needs to go up to the 5th, or G. It DOESN'T work so well in the key of G. BUT there are hundreds of songs that I play (and probably tens of thousands of songs) that work great in G.
But sometimes a wish isn't enough. I had been wishing that my chromatic kalimba was in G for a while now, but it wasn't changing. What you need to do is a bit tricky: change the two F naturals to F# on the front is simple enough, but then you need to change two of the three F# notes on the back into F naturals, and you also need to move them. You see, we are maintaining the principle that flat notes fall right behind the natural notes. Or in this case, F natural needs to land right behind the F# on the front. SO, the notes need some reorganizing, and to do that you need to take the back 11-tines apart, reorganize, and then put them back together again.
And WHY in the world would someone want to do this? Ah, here is the error. A customer recently purhcase the Chromatic kalimba an dthe ALTO Book. Well, the Alto Book doesn't work for the chromatic in "standard tuning". SO, I fixed his up so that it DID work, and I realized that there might be other folks who would like it set up this way. So, I am going to set up my personal chromatic kalimba THIS WAY, now that I have a few tips to write for it in the coming weeks.
Download a PDF showing how to set up the G chromatic. Beware! The shaded tines represent the "chromatic" tines, as seen from the top, THROUGH the kalimba - when you flip the kalimba over, the tines will be backwards with respect to this chart.
Download a PDF showing how to take yuor kalimba apart and get it back together. Of course, you would ignore the part about removing some tines to make the treblito - rather, you need to change some tines around.
Download the KTabS file for the G chromatic tuning. Beware! The shaded tines represent the "chromatic" tines, as seen from the top, THROUGH the kalimba - when you flip the kalimba over, the tines will be backwards with respect to this chart.
Visit KTabS to download a trial version of KTabS to play this file on your computer. OR, if you find this program useful, maybe its time to purchase the full program. For $30, its a great bargain.
If YOU have come up with a different note layout or tuning, let us know!