Kalimba Magic NEWS

Volume 3, Number 9

September 24, 2008

What's New at Kalimba Magic

Early Christmas Shopping Sale! 10% Off

Between September 24 and October 10, you can use the coupon code HELP to get 10 % off on any and all Kalimba Magic purchases. I am preparing for the biggest ever Kalimba Christmas, but in order to pay for these massive kalimba shipments, I will need a bit of capital. Think of it this way—when you take advantage of this sale, you get the nice 10% off, plus you also get to feel good knowing you are helping to keep the Kalimba Magic ball rolling!

Kalimba Magic at PASIC

PASIC is the annual Percussive Arts Society's International Conference.

We'll be at PASIC again this year, November 5-8, at the Austin, Texas Convention Center. We will be offering a 10% discount on all kalimbas, books, and CDs. Even though we will be in the quiet zone, we will be able to provide you with performances on the Electric Kalimba by Mark Holdaway and Kevin Spears. We will be cranking these little guys through a system of headphones and headphone amplifiers so as not to disturb the delicate marimbas next door. And we will also have the AMI amadinda and the totally insane Chromatic kalimbas, in addition to all the other great Hugh Tracey kalimbas and Hokema sansulas. So, if you are going to be there at PASIC, come by and look us up at Booth #98 . You can sign up for a kalimba lesson with either Mark Holdaway or Kevin Spears. On the other hand, if you live in Austin, Texas and you won't be at PASIC, you can still meet with us for a kalimba lesson or to purchase a kalimba at conference prices. Just call us at: 520 488-7641.

New! Kalimba Buyer's Guide

The Kalimba Magic Buyer's Guide is a great resource for comparing the different kalimbas that are available. The first edition is arranged into three sections: one section describes three different kalimba makers, another section describes some of the features available on kalimbas, and the main section matches kalimbas with different sorts of people, their desires, and different kalimba objectives. The Buyer's Guide can help you to select the perfect kalimba for you!

Common Roots: Stefan George and Mark Holdaway Concert

Roots music, Friday Sept 26, 7-10pm at Old Town Artisans in Tucson

If you don't know Stefan George, he's the real deal. He's a singer/songwriter/guitarist who has won numerous songwriting awards, has been featured on national stages and syndicated radio shows. He is one of Tucson's great musical treasures. He plays Americana—blues and the various folk musics that blend in this melting pot. A lot of this music traces its roots back to Africa, the home of the kalimba. I play everything but especially kalimba—often a blend of American folk music with some African vibes. We will explore the way our Common Roots intersect in an interview on Friday, September 26, 7-10pm at Old Town Artisans. $10 cover charge.

And if you miss this concert, we'll be releasing a CD later this year.

Altos & Chromatics are Back

We are constantly scrambling to keep up with demand, and we keep running out of our most popular kalimbas—namely, the Alto kalimbas, the Treble kalimbas and now the Chromatic kalimbas. Of course, AMI ia always scrambling to keep up with our orders! But for the moment, all of the best selling kalimbas are back in stock!

Chromatic Kalimba News

We've posted six more chromatic tips in the Chromatic Kalimba Guide. You could wait for these to come out one by one as Thursday Tips of the Day, or you could just go and look at these right away. Sharon Eaton has written an intuitive song using the chromatic notes, I have arranged the Star Spangled Banner for the Chromatic kalimba, and I have included a G-chromatic note layout that makes it possible to use the kalimba just like an Alto (i.e., the front 15 tines are in the key of G with F#, and the F natural is on the backside with the other chromatic notes).

We've sold about 50 chromatic kalimbas to people around the world, and at this point I expect people are figuring out what to do with them. Have you written or arranged some nice music on the Chromatic? Have you figured out a different way of arranging the notes? If you have anything to share with the rest of the kalimba world, please send it my way, and I'll post it for the rest of the kalimba world. ALSO: Kalimba Magic will be holding a contest for "Best Chromatic Music". Of course, excluding Sharon Eaton and Mark Holdaway. Please send me your music, played on a Hugh Tracey Chromatic kalimba, by January 31, 2009, along with a description of the note layout, if different from the standard C tuning (i.e., Sharon Eaton's tuning). You can send the music as an MP3, as a compressed video, or a link to a YouTube video, or even as a KTabS file (we'll consider your arrangement even if you can't play it yet!) to mark@kalimbamagic.com .

Kalimba Magic Featured in Arizona Daily Star Article

On August 22, Gerald Gay of The Arizona Daily Star wrote a feature article on me, Mark Holdaway, and the kalimba business.

Kalimba Magic - Spreading the Kalimba to the world

Kalimba Magic is the number one source of information on the kalimba, worldwide! Well, maybe it isn't the first place to look to for information on the kalimba if you are living in Africa. But across North America, Europe, even in Asia, South America, and Australia, people turn to Kalimba Magic to find out about the kalimba.

Map of Kalimba Magic visitors on Sept 3, 2008

And they just don't come and look at a page or two. Often Kalimba Magic visitors look at dozens of pages on our site, digging deep into the information in the newsletters or the Tip of the Day!

There may very well be a seller of Hugh Tracey kalimbas in your country already—in which case, you should look them up. However, most sellers don't carry the full line of Hugh Tracey kalimbas like Kalimba Magic does. And most countries don't have a seller of Hugh Tracey kalimbas, but Kalimba Magic does ship internationally. To date, we've shipped kalimbas to 38 different countries. If you live outside the U.S. and you are interested in the kalimba, send us an email.

Heads Up on Price Increase

Responding to drastic increases in the prices of supplies, such as wood and kalimba tines, as well as increases in the price of fuel, transportation, and shipping, compounded by the fall of the value of the South African Rand, AMI had their first ever mid-year price increase of 5% in June 2008. They will also have another 10% price increase in January 2009.

Of course, one of the most important issues in determining the end price of a kalimba is the global rate of exchange of currencies, which we have no control over. I am holding the line on prices for now, absorbing AMI's mid-year 5% increase myself, but I will be raising retail prices in January 2009. In other words, buy kalimbas now!