Kalimba Magic NEWS
Volume 2, Number 9
December 1, 2007
In This Issue:
What's New at Kalimba Magic
PASIC 2007
Whats in a name? Kalimba for Mbira?
New Kalimba Retailers
Kalimba Community
My Bargain with the Universe
What's New at Kalimba Magic?
Free Shipping from Kalimba Magic
When you order a CD, book, or kalimba from Kalimba Magic before December 10 2007, you will get free shipping to any location in the United States or Canada -- just remember to include the Coupon Code 3Shipping when you are checking out. International orders cannot be processed via the web store, but we will do half off for foreign shipping.Christmas at Kalimba Magic
Christmas music sounds great on your Hugh Tracey alto or treble kalimba! Mark Holdaway's peaceful and beautiful kalimba playing graces his CD Christmas Kalimba.
You can learn how to play beautiful Christmas carols on the Hugh Tracey alto or treble kalimba yourself with the Kalimba Christmas Carols Book. Using a special form of tablature, the 25 songs in this book are easy to read. The melodies in the beginning of this book are simple enough for beginners, but the last carols in this book are fairly challenging even for seasoned players.
New Kalimbas at Kalimba Magic
We are pleased to offer several new kalimbas. First, we are offering a limited number of Andrew Masters art kalimbas. Andrew lives in France and supports himself by making art and kalimbas - and each of his unique kalimbas is a work of art itself. These are hand made from recycled materials. Many people have commented that the flattened tines on the Andrew Masters kalimbas are much easier on the thumbs than the Hugh Tracey kalimbas. We look forward to offering more of Andrew's works in the future.
Andrew Masters Kalimbas
We also are happy to offer two more beautiful kalimbas made by Peter Hokema. Even though Peter lives next door to Andrew, in Germany, the kalimbas are night and day. Each of Andrew's kalimbas is a unique hand-made work of folk art, while the Hokema kalimbas are precision engineered pieces with very little variance. We've been carrying Peter Hokema's brilliant Sansulas for over a year, and these two new Hokema kalimbas are also masterpieces in their own right.
We are offering the naked kalimba from the Sansula - ie, the same beautiful 9-note A minor Ake Bono scale, but without the frame drum - for $59, making this one of our less expensive kalimbas. We call it the "Pocket Sansula" - it does fit in your pocket, but you might not want to put it there.
The Pocket Sansula
We also carry another new Hokema kalimba, the A minor, 9-note pentatonic kalimba mounted on a resonant box for $91.
The Hokema Pentatonic Kalimba
Kalimba Magic Brochure
Kalimba Magic is a diverse business, featuring kalimbas, books, lessons, CDs, educational presentations, workshops, and performances. You can take in the breadth of this enterprise by looking at our New Brochure.Price Increases in 2008
AMI, African Musical Instruments, the maker of the Hugh Tracey line of kalimbas, will have a modest price increase in February, 2008 and we will be passing on the price increase (and whatever the US dollar's exchange rate is doing) to the consumer later in the spring of 2008. Of course, this means that NOW is a great time to purchase a kalimba (especially if you remember to take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING this week by including the 3Shipping coupon code when you check out at The Kalimba Magic Shop.(Almost) All Hugh Tracey Kalimbas Back in Stock (Again)!
We've had a lot of kalimbas go out of stock at the PASIC meeting and now with early Christmas sales, but I am pleased to announce that our latest shipment of kalimbas from Africa has just cleared customs in LA are now in the Kalimba Magic Warehouse. So, if you need help filling out your Christmas List, Kalimba Magic is ready to help. We are still missing the Hugh Tracey 8-Note with pickup, but we look forward to having some of those in early January.
Kalimba Magic at PASIC 2007
PASIC - the Percussive Arts Society's International Conference
When Glen Davis and I pulled up at the Columbus, OH Convention Center, we had no idea what we were in for. But after three days of presenting the Hugh Tracey Kalimbas to the world, we've made our mark. Pat Hickey said "You're in the Big Time now, Mark". After adding 250 new kalimba enthusiasts to our mailing list and selling out of our most popular models at PASIC, we'd like to say THANK YOU to everyone who came by and made our first big conference a great success.
People were amazed by the natural "wah" sound of the Hugh Tracey and Sansula kalimbas, and almost everyone enjoyed getting the "Konono No 1"-type distortion and effects out of the electric Hugh Tracey kalimbas going through the digital effects processor.
Adding to the buzz of Kalimba Magic at PASIC were four different performances featuring kalimbas and mbiras:
- Batambira is Michael Spiro and B. Michael Williams' group, featuring three drummers, two mbira players, a flute, and very authentic singing. (The flute player laid down his studio tracks without seeing B. Michael Williams, and just assumed he was a black man from Zimbabwe - the music is that convincing.) Their performance at PASIC was a beautiful and deeply moving blend of Cuban Bata and Shona mbira, both traditionally used in spirit possession ceremonies.
- N. Scott Robinson mixed up the mbira with traditional music from Southern India with spouse K.S. Resmi sining and Amrit N on khanjira, a traditional Indian tambourine. And so, KhanjiraMbira, a similar cross-cultural collaboration, is born.
- Last month, we featured the custom-made kalimba used in Per Norgard's piece I Ching. At PASIC, Marta Klimasara did a great performance of I Ching, which inspired about] two dozen folks asking about the I Ching's 13-note (ie, two hexagrams plus a spare note) kalimba. BTW, we can build one of these kalimbas for you. Contact us.
- And certainly not the least of these was Fernando Rocha's electronic music performance which featured a modified TM ALTO kalimba with a pickup. The TM Alto, mounted on a flat board, is missing the vibrato holes in the back, so Fernando mounted pressure sensitive pads there, connected them to his MacBook via USB, and used the signals to control various effects including radical picth shifting and electronic vibrato. Very cool.
I did not perform at a scheduled PASIC slot, but Glen and I attended two of the evening drum circle events, and Craig Woodson, Dave Holland and Dave Wonsey all heard my little Bflat Treble Kalimba over the din of 100 drummers, and conducted the circle to make space for the wee little one, pulling me into the center for kalimba solos. Any ONE of those experiences would have made my day, and to have done it three times was like vacationing in heaven. By the way, if anyone has an audio or video recording of the kalimba in the drum circles, I would LOVE to see or hear what actually happened.
All in all, Kalimba Magic's first appearance at PASIC was a huge success, and we look forward to seeing you at PASIC 2008, Nov 5-8, in Austin, TX.
Whats in a Name?
Kalimba or Mbira?
In 1964, Hugh Tracey published the Article 'A Case for the Name Mbira' in the African Music Society Journal, no. 3 (1964). The mbira is the pinacle of complexity and beauty among traditional African musical instruments, and various simpler mbira-like instruments populate Africa, each with its own name. And so, the name mbira transcends the specific instrument and becomes also a generic name for all such instruments.
But now, the very instrument Hugh Tracey sent out into the world in the late 1950's, the Kalimba, lends its name as a generic as well. Originally, Kalimba meant what is now called the Hugh Tracey Treble Kalimba. Then the name extended its use to describe any such tine-plucked instrument with a western scale, usually with a regular note layout. Now, like mbira, the name kalimba is used to describe any of these instruments, non-traditional or traditional.
While usage or "Mbira" or "Kalimba" will always be somewhat blurred between the specific instrument and the generic, I propose that "Mbira" be used either for the specific traditional instrument or as a generic name for any traditional African tine-plucked instrument. Then the name "kalimba" can stand for any modern tine-plucked instrument. Or, to take the family as a whole to emphasize the roots of the kalimba as well as the forward looking trajectory of innovative instrument builders, we can speak of the "mbira/kalimba" tradition.
The boundaries between "mbira" and "kalimba" are however constantly being blurred. For example, most modern-day players of the mbira usually play with westernized versions of their traditional tunings, with the traditional intervals mainly being shifted towards western temperred intervals to facilitate playing with guitars and keyboards. On the other hand, AMI makes a workshop-produced traditionally-tuned instrument called the "karimba" - perhaps the
N. Scott Robinson has put together a great web page featuring Mbira Players (ie, both players of the tarditional Shona mbira and players of other traditional tine-plucked African instruments). This page is a great compliment to our own Kalimba Community Page, which mainly features players of modern instruments.
New Retailers
Our first retailer in California:
Djembe Man Drums
www.djembemandrums.com
info("at")djembemandrums.com
408-329-2517
Arnold, the Djembe Man himself, was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in northern Zambia by the Congo border and has a real appreciation for African music in general and kalimba/karimba/mbira music in specific.
Steve Luke's Mostly Music
stephen.r.luke("at")hampton.amsec.com
eBay sales only
1532 Wild Duck Crossing
Chesapeake, VA 23321
(757) 478-2786
Steve also has a neat book listing every possible chord on the Treble Kalimba. The body of the book is generated from a spreadsheet, so it is possible to generate another book for the ALTO, or for kalimbas in other tunings. Contact Steve if you want the Treble Chord Dictionary or if you are interested in a Chord Dictionary for one of the other kalimbas or tunings.
David Gale was mentioned last month as a new kalimba seller in Australia. Well, he's back in the news for three reasons:
- David has created a new Kalimba Website to promote the kalimba.
- He has started a new Kalimba Collective in Sydney Australia - a bunch of people getting together and learning how to play from each other.
- And David has invented a cool little short-range FM transmitter that hooks up to your Hugh Tracey kalimba with pickup - so you can play without an amplifier, but going chordless through your FM Stereo system or car radio. Way cool! David plans to offer this device for about 130 dollars (Australian dollars I presume).
David Gale
142 Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Austinmer New South Wales 2515
Australia
davidgale("at")mac.com
View the Kalimba Retailer's List
The Kalimba Community
Far and Wide
Kalimba on TV in the UK - A Message from Sam Kirkham:
"Just thought I'd let you know that there's an advert currently on UK TV for a Sony Walkman mp3 player with an orchestra of instrumentalists playing various instruments, and amongst them are a group of kalimba players!! Just thought I'd inform you of the kalimba infiltrating the mainstream if you hadn't already seen it!"Peter Hokema's New Website
Peter Hokema, the maker of the Sansula and other innovative instruments, has a new website.Kalimba on Gray's Anatamy - Private Practice
Some of you noticed the tinkling of kalimbas on the soundtrack to prime-time TV's Gray's Anatamy - Private Practice. Composers Timothy Bright and Chad Fisher have been using the electric Hugh Tracey Kalimbas in their mainstream soundtrack work.Kalimba Bird CD by Erich Overholtz
Says Erich: "It's a short story I wrote called the Kalimba Bird, an allegorical tale about the life of Christ. A friend of mine is reading the narrative and I'm playing the kalimba for musical color. I'll send you an advance copy once I'm done."
You can contact Erich via email at: EOverhultz("at")aol.com
David Gale starts a kalimba collective in Sydney
David Gale has started a new Kalimba Collective in Sydney Australia. If you live in the area, check them out and see what happensWeb Journal touts Kalimba and Book
Allison Durno bought a kalimba and a few books from Kalimba Magic last month, and she GOT IT! Here is her review of the kalimba and books.The Kalimba Kings, a New Kalimba Band in San Diego
Contact Andy Robinson at robinsong5("at")aol.com to find out where in the San Diego area you can go and hear this great new kalimbo-centric band.Where Can I Get a Bass Kalimba or Marimbula?
The one I play on Between the Dark and the Light is a Cloud Nine Marimbula. Another product which looks good to me is the Schalgwerk Marimbula.Lots of Kalimba Video on You Tube
- Stephen Swartz playing a double tined Goshen NYC kalimba and then changing to an alto Hugh Tracey, December 2006. "Got the dancing clogger effect by playing with my index of right hand."
- Peter Hokema plays his famous Sansula.
- Mark Holdaway's video combines a kalimba tuning tutorial with a beautiful new Sansula tuning.
- David Jones give us the "Kalimba Gift", in which he plays the kalimba with his fingers on top of his trap set. Wow!
- Patti Brousard also shows how the array mbira is laid out in this closeup video. Look at the note names and you can understand how the array mbira works.
- Mark Holdaway posts his Christmas Medley part I (Jesu, O Holy Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wencaslas, Emmanuel) and Christmas Medley part II (Away in a Manger, Bring a Torch, We Three Kings, Hark the Herald Angels, Angels We Have Heard on High, Joy to the World).
- Patti Brousard has something new and beautiful: Now Thank We All our God on the array mbira.
- Tomaidaka provides us a wonderully rhythmic melody pattern on an 8-note kalimba - the "wah" effect is very cool on this one.
- A guy named Victor who plays a Hugh Tracey Alto kalimba in a very rhythmic style.
- Kalimba and Copper melds art and music.
- Healing Kalimba shows stills to a Baha'i prayer sung with kalimba.
- Kalimba Dance shows OtavioFJr's buddies dancing to his kalimba music.
My bargain with the Universe
I have been blessed with a sublime light that often comes to rest in my hands when I play music. This presence of light guides me with joy, through improvisations and arrangements, and if I am mindful, through performances and recording sessions.
I find that I have a particular gift with the kalimba. I have put forth a mission to myself - to try to understand everything I can about the kalimbas - how to play them, their history, the way they vibrate, the logic of the kalimbas' note layouts and tunings, as well as all of the implications of that logic.
I openly give this understanding and knowledge and music to the universe so that it might bring joy to others, and in turn, I find that the universe supports me by permitting me to make my living in such a way.
Sometimes, there is a one-to-one correspondence in my business transactions - someone sends me money, and I send them a kalimba. Often, the loop of give and take is more subtle - I put out a Tip of the Day, or play a free concert, or share what I know to help someone with their kalimba, and support comes to me from an unexpected direction.
This is a faithful way of life, and I am thankful that I am able to proceed this way.
Peace and blessings in your life
-Mark Holdaway
If you have any questions, or if you have suggestions for future newsletter topics or Tip Of The Day ideas, please share them with me! -Mark
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