Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Hitzaskiar Persian Tuning
on the 8-Note Kalimba

This is an easy tuning that has some great aspects:

Listen to the 8-Note Kalimba in Hitzaskiar Tuning

If you play the right four notes, which are the same as with the C major tuning, you will get the C major 7 chord. If you play the left four notes, you will get the D flat major 7 chord, i.e., the left four notes are each half a step above the corresponding four notes on the right. This symmetry makes this a wonderful scale for the 8-note kalimba.

You only need to change two notes (D to D flat and A to A flat) to go from C major to C Hitzaskiar, so this is a great scale to introduce yourself to alternative tunings. Try it!

Many thanks to Kevin Roddy in Hawaii who is the first person to order an 8-note kalimba in Hitzaskiar tuning; I am sure he won't be the last to do so.

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