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Mark Holdaway

Pre-order “Volume II * 365 Days to Kalimba Mastery” for 17/C Kalimba, at half price

I expect Volume II of this groundbreaking guide to kalimba playing will be available for download Oct 30 2022. You can pre-order it now for  half price at $6. If you haven’t already done so, check out Volume I of “365 Days to Kalimba Mastery”. Why You Need This Book Well… get Volume I first, and if you learn so much that it transforms your kalimba playing, you obviously need to get Volume II. It will be available as two different PDF files: a narrow version that is perfect for viewing on your phone, and a “double wide” version that has left and right facing pages displayed together – which

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Mark Holdaway

Now Available: Hard Copy of “Kalimba Americana for Alto Kalimba”

I wrote the “Kalimba Americana for Alto Kalimba” in the summer of 2019. Until now, it has only been available as a PDF download from Kalimba Magic. Now, you can purchase the “Kalimba Americana”  book from Amazon for $12. Or you could purchase Kalimba Americana from the Kalimba Magic Shop for $12. Want to learn more about the Kalimba Americana collection? Kalimba Americana for Alto Kalimba

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Mark Holdaway

Get Hard Copy of “Kalimba Americana for 17-Note Kalimba in C”

I wrote the “Kalimba Americana for 17-Note Kalimba in C” in the summer of 2019. Until now, it has only been available as a PDF download from Kalimba Magic. Now, you can purchase the “Kalimba Americana”  book from Amazon for $12. Want to learn more about the Kalimba Americana collection? Kalimba Americana for 17-Note Kalimba in C

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Mark Holdaway

New Book: Advanced Christmas Carols for the 17-Note Kalimba in C

Now Is The Time to Prepare Your Christmas Carols if you want to play them in December! This book of 20 arrangements of advanced Christmas carols for the 17-Note Kalimba in C is great for the person who has been seriously playing kalimba for a year or more. This 48 page book provides the tablature for arrangements of Christmas carols as performed by Mark Holdaway. A QR code will quickly link you to the web page with the sound recordings for each song in this book. Available as a hard copy book. Available as a PDF download. The book includes these carols: Angels from the Realms of Glory Angels we

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Mark Holdaway

Can You Help Spread the Word About Kalimba Magic?

Can you help spread the word about Kalimba Magic? This is my moment of need, and I am reaching out to you because I believe you have benefited from what I do: Kalimba Magic. You may have benefited from one or more of our kalimbas… a Hugh Tracey, or a Sansula, or a Goshen? A SaReGaMa tuning? A karimba? A Magadi kalimba? Or one of the new Chinese 17-Note or 10-Note Kalimbas? You may have benefited from one or more of the 100 kalimba books or ebooks I have written for various kalimbas and musical genres. You have almost certainly benefited from the kalimba tablature that I invented in 2004,

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Mark Holdaway

Kalimba Gifts for Graduation

A kalimba is a great gift, especially for young graduates who could use a little nudge in the direction of wonder! Save 30% on Kalimbas Through June 5 2022 with Code KalimbaGrad When you get a gift for someone graduating school, you want something beautiful. You want something that opens doors into new futures, new possibilities, new worlds. You want something that they can grow into. You want something that is meaningful and open ended. You want to get something that your graduate can make their own. And you want to gift them something that also reflects your values. What values might you bring with your kalimba gift? Peace =

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Mark Holdaway

Kalimbas: Constructive, Educational Summer Fun for Kids 6 and Up!

This summer, instead of letting your kid’s cell phone instruct them in the way of video games… maybe it is time for your kid to get a kalimba and begin their kalimba journey? Playing kalimba exposes your child to new cultural and musical ideas. Playing kalimba promotes independence, as your kid goes off and figures it out. Playing kalimba calms your kid down, as they focus in on this sweet little musical instrument. Playing kalimba is good for the brain, promoting right – left collaboration and hemispheric balance. My rule of thumb for kalimbas and kids is: one tine per year of age. There is a lot of slush in

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Mark Holdaway

Do Something for Yourself: Try the Moon-10 Kalimba?

If you are tired of playing the same old kalimba stuff on the 17-Note Kalimbas, try exploring new worlds with the Moon-10. First off, the Moon-10 has great tines and mind-blowing special effects (the full-body wah wah). This kalimba tends to come in simplified pentatonic scales. This along with the innovative note layout make the Moon-10 great for improvising. And the diversity of tunings it comes in means you can dial in the types of music it will create: Phases of the Moon: Moon-10 Alternative Tunings This video shows two different tunings of Moon-10 Kalimba – F# NAF on the left and Silk Moon on the right. I don’t have

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

What is a “Celeste” Kalimba?

The “celeste” models are Hugh Tracey kalimbas mounted on a thin, tapered wooden block, instead of the resonant boxes that the standard Hugh Tracey kalimba models are mounted on. There are box-mounted traditional kalimbas. The one that I saw was a solid piece of wood that had been hollowed out from the end. But most traditional African kalimbas are a bunch of tines mounted on a solid piece of wood. So the celeste models are structurally more similar to traditional kalimbas than the common box kalimbas are. Essentially every Hugh Tracey kalimba comes in a box-mounted version and a celeste version. All celeste Hugh Tracey kalimbas have the same body

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