Kalimba Magic NEWS

Kalimba Magic Children's Workshop, July 23
at MIM, the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ

MIM, the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ opened its doors last year. This is a huge world class museum dedicated to musical instruments from around the world. When my wife Deb and I were passing though Phoenix last October, we had only three hours to spend there, and we only got through the African section. A careful visit could last a day or more. In addition to the standard fare of sounds and video (they give you headphones for short-range radio transmissions to hear the sound that goes with the video) and musical instruments from every country on every continent, there are also special programs - lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and concerts.

The MIM at 4725 East Mayo Boulevard in northern Phoenix.

Kalimba Magic will be doing a program for children ages 6-12 on July 23, 10-11:30 am. I will play a few songs for the kids and tell a traditional African story that shows how magical some Africans believed the kalimba to be. I'll instruct the children on how to play a few simple songs on the Student Karimba, a great instrument for introducing African music to children, and we'll make very simple kalimbas based largely on a design by Bart Hopkin, author of Making Musical Instruments With Kids: 67 Easy Projects. Finally, we'll go upstairs and look at the traditional African kalimbas they've got at the MIM.

Admission is $20 per child, and it is free to adults accompanying children. Learn more at The MIM website (This link takes you to the correct page, but you have to scroll way down to see the info about Kalimba Magic's program.).

By the way, the MIM's gift shop sells more Hugh Tracey kalimbas than any other reseller in Arizona. If you are looking to get a Hugh Tracey kalimba in Phoenix, MIM is the place to go. And if you are in southern Arizona, give me a call and you can stop by!

Karimba in a resonator of the style Hugh Tracey popularized.

Karimba in a gourd resonator

The mbira dzavadzimu and the karimba evolved from a common ancestral instrument that probably looked a lot like the Student Karimba, which I will teach in the July 23rd workshop.