Kalimba Magic

The Magical Music Box Storybook and CD
A beautiful gift for all ages!

Five years ago, as I was driving to a performance at an elder care facility in Tucson, AZ, I felt the need for a Christmas story that would be about the kalimba. I thought "Too bad nothing I come up with will be ready in time for my gig in 45 minutes!" But then a minor miracle happened.

Into my mind popped a single generative idea: instead of a kalimba, what if I held in my hands a music box, the kind that people used to have in their homes 50 years ago, the kind a 70 year old may have gotten as a gift when growing up. And... instead of playing just one beautiful song, this music box could somehow sense the heart of the person who was holding it and play that person's favorite Christmas carol.

The Magical Music Box story literally unfolded itself in my mind as I drove, picturing the different characters and wondering what Christmas carol would be their favorite. I thankfully realized that I now had a musical story to perform at my gig after all!

Listen to the part of the story when the rabbi and the toymaker and his family take the magical music box to the mayor and listen to the mayor's favorite Christmas carol, Silent Night!

Over the last five years, the Magical Music Box story has been refined, and my playing has gotten better as well. Now I am finally ready to release this story to the world in the form of a story book with a CD. To be sure, it is NOT YET a picture book. The words of the story are written out so young children can practice their reading, or so parents and grandparents can read it out loud to their young ones. But the story, and especially the Christmas carols performed on the kalimba, are all right there on the CD that comes tucked inside the book.

By the way, the book also has an appendix with some great information about the kalimba: where it came from, and just as important, where it is going!

The Magical Music Box story is loved by people of all ages at my kalimba performances. I would recommend it for 6 years and up.

Purchase The Magical Music Box from the Kalimba Magic Shop for $15!

Christmas carols included in The Magical Music Box:

• Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
• O Holy Night
• O Christmas Tree
• Dreidel
• Silent Night
• Good King Wenceslas
• Away in a Manger
• Jingle Bells

If you would like to learn how to play the songs yourself, tablature for Jesu is included for free in this newsletter, similar arrangements of the songs O Christmas Tree, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells, and Good King Wenceslas can be found in the Advanced Alto Christmas Carols Book, the Advanced Treble Christmas Carols Book, and the Advanced Bb Treble Christmas Carols Download. I think we'll have to offer free tablature for O Holy Night on Christmas Eve or something!

Sally Bunkrude

Extra Special Thanks to Sally Bunkrude!

I'm sure you've heard of writer's block. Well, I was suffering from recorder's block - I had the story all worked out fine, but I was frozen and was unable to move forward on recording this story. I want to acknowledge Sally Bonkrude and her performance coaching business Positive Inner Change for helping me get past the block on this recording project.

I met Sally at the Mid West Region meeting of the American Music Therapy Association in 2010. I've done two 45 minute sessions with her, one in person in Colorado after the MWRAMTA meeting, and the other on the phone in late October 2011. She is bright, creative, insightful, intuitive, kind, fun, and she was very helpful for me in achieving my goal of recording this story. Thank you so much, Sally! Without you, this musical story book would not be a reality in 2011.

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