December 11, 2018

Blog
Mark Holdaway

In defense of the Treble, the original Hugh Tracey Kalimba

The subtle brilliance of Hugh Tracey’s Treble Kalimba Tuning The Hugh Tracey Treble Kalimba has some of the most silvery tones When Hugh Tracey started making the Treble kalimba with five painted tines and 17 notes  in 1954, it was the very first commercial kalimba. The Treble has a rich history, though the instrument’s setup is somewhat problematic. On most modern kalimbas, the “key note” or “root note” is the lowest note on the instrument and this has great advantages. The Treble kalimba, however, is in the key of G but is missing that low G and A. It actually starts on B, the 3rd of the scale. It can take

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Playing well Together: 10-Note and 17-Note Heart Kalimbas

A great pair of kalimbas for a beginner and an experienced player. Sweet video, too! You Can Get a 10-Note / 17-Note Kalimba Pair Yes, I have been making the point about the 10-Note and the 17-Note kalimbas for months: the lower notes (the 10 inner tines) on the 17-Note kalimba in C are an exact match to the notes of the 10-Note kalimba in C. One consequence: if playing on 17 notes is too hard, hide 7 of those tines and just play it as if it were a 10-Note, using the 10-Note downloads. Another consequence: if you get the 10-Note and do well with it, you can then

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