Kalimba Magic NEWS

Joel Laviolette is the real deal. He has been to Zimbabwe and learned from the masters, he plays several different varieties of mbira, he teaches mbira and marimba, runs his own band Rattletree Marimba, and he builds marimbas and mbiras. "I'd say that learning [mbira] in the U.S. was like swimming on the surface of the water and learning in Zimbabwe was like diving deep underwater—it was all in the same deep pool though."

The KTabS program has been my primary tool for documenting and disseminating kalimba music in a form that other people can readily understand. Each month, I will share my KTabS secrets in this regular column.

Dear Mark, I love my my brand new kalimba--I have been playing it continuously for the last 14 hours! But I thought I asked for a blue-tine kalimba. Why are my tines red?
Maybe you should have gotten the thumb picks?
This month I answer these questioins:

We have a good list of upcoming contests for you to get ready for, and we are starting our first contest this month. We'll be giving away a Hugh Tracey kalimba to each monthly winner. Don't you want to know what the February contest is?

Never heard of the Hugh Tracey HotShot-11? Me neither! But with a name like that, it must be something worth checking out.
Never heard of the Hugh Tracey HotShot-11? Me neither! But with a name like that, it must be something worth