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The Magadi Olive-9 Kalimba is a largely unappreciated deal. They are pretty rugged, have pretty cool special affects via the “wah wah” sound you get by tilting the kalimba body over a flat surface (like a stack of papers on a table top).  And now, we are presenting a whole load of special tunings to help you fine-tune the sound you want to get out of one of these special kalimbas. And these exotic tunings are only available at Kalimba Magic. Why Retune Your Kalimba? Some instruments, such as guitar or piano, give you all the notes you might possibly need for virtually any song. A small 9-note kalimba, on

I just watched a YouTube video on Autism and Monotropism that blew my mind open. Monotropism is a theory of autism that posits that most ASD behaviors stem from the autistic mind’s preference to focus on just a few things at a time, rather than the many things that neurotypical people tend to focus on simultaneously. I think I understand how learning and playing kalimba is such a fulfilling activity… especially for people on the autistic spectrum! I have not been diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), but it runs in my family. I’m a nerd, I’m a teckie. I’m good at focus; I’ve dedicated 19 years of my life

These two Star-13 Kalimba Tunings organize the universe of notes in two different ways: Bothe F Tuning: Upper Row vs Lower Row I have taken inspiration from other kalimba tunings.  Thomas Bothe, a German kalimba maker,  was inspired to create his own tunings with the lower row defining one musical space (FM9) and the upper row tines defining another musical space (Gm9).  To make interesting music, you just play the lower row tines for a while, then the upper row tines… and then return. Literally, you don’t need to know anything about music to actually make real music with this tuning. What makes the Bothe F Star-13 Kalimba Tuning so

These kalimbas have been laying about in my collection, and it is time to part with them. What to expect: (a) These are one off items – when the first person buys one, it is gone. (b) I can work with you on the setup – the tuning and which tines are painted. (c) I have been pretty generous with the kalimba instructional downloads here! (d) Expect more kalimbas like these in September. Alto Afroharp with Small Crack   Hugh Tracey Treble + PU with tiny cracks

See what the Star-13 can do in each of these exotic tunings: Ethereal Lotus Lyte Star-13. Beautifully easy, light and shiny, Bothe F Star-13 Kalimba. A Harmonic Minor tuning of the Star-13 Kalimba. Romantic and charming. Desert Star Tuning. Beautiful and fiery!   eBook Instruction for Exotic Star-13 Tunings An Instructional Download for six exotic Star-13 Kalimba Tunings is now available! You will get this download for free when you purchase a Star-13 Kalimba in any tuning. Of course, you will also get the Star-13 Hardcopy Booklet for the standard C tuning. There are a lot of techniques covered in that book that will be applicable to any tuning you

Hi kalimba friends! So it looks like I get to retire. I have found some folks to purchase Kalimba Magic. This means you will still be able to get these cool little instruments that I stock, on into the future. And perhaps more importantly, the instructional downloads we offer will continue to work. (If you don’t have one of our downloads, they are PDF files with live links to the sound recordings. So you get to see the tablature, showing you which tines to play to accomplish a song, and you get to hear me play the song too!) And in recent years, my hard copy kalimba books have transitioned

Here is some useful info on retuning your kalimba. These two pages were taken from the Star-13 Exotic Tunings download.   Here is something I learned from my days as a Radio Astronomer: if you can tell there is a problem, you can usually fix it! If the kalimba sounds off, that means you can correct it and make it sound better. That knowledge doesn’t always do it, but it certainly helps to have that attitude.

Here is the Star-13 in G Tuning, playing Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”. OK, I’ll reckon straight with you. I have too many of the Star-13 Kalimbas in stock. To sell my business, I need to get the inventory way down. To sell these kalimbas off at a discount, I am doing what I should have done when I started selling them in 2021: write articulate and helpful instructional materials to help you get the most out of the Star-13 Kalimba. But instead of doing that work, I was tending to my ill wife. (It is complicated, but she is doing much better now.) No complaints. My life is great.

Desert Moon Tuning The Moon-10 Kalimba, made by Magadi, really caught me eye. I loved the way they felt and sounded. The notes have a clear, beautiful sound that sustains for over 10 seconds, much longer than the typical kalimba. And I especially loved the variety of tunings I could get out of the Moon-10. Today, I am selling off the Moon-10 Kalimba in the Desert Moon Tuning, a 6-tone Middle Eastern scale that is so cool and easy to play. Plus, I include for free a 37-page instructional PDF with live links to sound files. This download will show you all of the tricks I figured out on this