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Mark Holdaway

Four Tunings for the 17-Note Kalimba

Different Kalimba Tunings Inspire Different Musics How many great tunings are available to your 17-Note Kalimba? Realistically, I would say there are thousands of excellent tunings, but most of them haven’t been discovered yet. But here are four of the tunings that people ask for the most, in a 60-second video that lets you compare and contrast the tunings… by going backward and forward. Left to right: (red) Standard C Major Tuning. (purple) C Minor Tuning. (yellow) Middle Eastern Tuning. (blue) EW&F “Evil” Tuning. You can get any of these tunings on any of the 17-Note Kalimbas in C. I’ve written tons of stuff for the 17-Note Standard C Tuning:

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Look For My Introspective Kalimba / Word Videos

I have always had a lot to say about the kalimba – about its history, about how to play it, how to keep it in tune, how to tune it. I also have a lot to say about how the kalimba makes me feel, and kalimba music does for me. I invite you to tune into a new series of introspective kalimba videos I’ve been making, where I combine my kalimba playing with part of the story I am trying to tell. This gives you two channels of information, and I feel that the music and the words help each other tell thee story together. Here are three:   As

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Updated: Christmas Music Resources

If you want to perform some carols on kalimba this Christmas, start here! Over the years, I have created a lot of books, instructional materials, videos, and articles about playing Christmas music on your kalimba. For your Christmas consideration, I have collected it all in one place for you. If you want to spend money, we have plenty of books, ebooks, and CDs for you to take advantage of. If you don’t want to spend money, we have created a lot of free resources, and they are all listed here. You might ask why I have so many resources for playing Christmas music on the kalimba. It is because I

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

The Last of the Heart-17 Kalimbas

We have just a few Heart-17 Kalimbas left. They haven’t been for sale for several months, and we found four more. These few may be the last ones we will be selling, so if you want one, now is your chance.   Resources For the 17-Note Kalimba in C Learning to Play 17-Note Kalimba in C African Karimba Songs on the 17-Note Kalimba in C

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Learn 17-Note and 10-Note Kalimbas: Live Facebook Event Friday Sep 23, 3-4 MST

Hi! I am doing another Facebook Live event this Friday, September 23 2022 at 3pm MST = 6pm EDT. Huh? Arizona gets so much sun, we never go on Daylight Savings Time. Yes, we would go onto Daylight WASTING Time if it meant the sun would leave the sky sooner. So, in the summer, we are the same as PDT, and in the winter, we are the same as MST. Just one of life’s little complications. On the other hand, if you live in Arizona, you never have to change your clocks – which sounds simple to me. Enough on time zones. Here is the plan for the (approximately) one

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Learning to Play 17-Note Kalimba in C

I write kalimba books for fun and for my living. I write tablature-based books. Kalimba tablature might look complex, compared to the numbers-based system. But really, the tablature method is not difficult to use. I have always had success with using the visual kalimba tablature with children as young as 6 and 7… so I am sure you can do it too! But the real strength of tablature is that it is flexible and capable of notating essentially anything you can do on the kalimba. And I can tell you, I can do a lot on the kalimba! And I can notate my accomplishments in tablature. Which means, if you

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Magadi Kalimbas – Really Good, and Really Affordable!

Are you in a kalimba rut? Let one of these exotic kalimbas free you into a new land of music!   The Magadi line of kalimbas are all high quality instruments, generally with exotic tunings and innovative designs. Each Magadi kalimba we sell comes with a free booklet that I wrote – the implication being that these are insightful guides that will help you get the most out of these kalimbas. I should note that these booklets are not available anywhere except Kalimba Magic. To popularize the Magadi Kalimbas, we are offering a 30% off coupon code: Magadi30 Here are the words of Peter Oxland, one happy Kalimba Magic customer:

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Hokema B11 Kalimba – Alternative Tuning Strategies

A common theme: the more notes you have, the more musical possibilities you have. The flip side: if you are overwhelmed by the possibilities, get a simpler kalimba with fewer tines. And yet another theme: kalimbas with restricted numbers of notes and restricted possibilities can explore new spaces of possible music simply by changing the tuning. That is the main reason why I explore new tunings. Here are two fundamentally different ways of approaching kalimba tunings: Three different B11 Tunings Above Video, Left: Standard B11 Tuning (G Major) The standard tuning has just over a two octave range. If you were to have every note in the scale, that would

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Blog
Mark Holdaway

Meet the Kalimbas II: Live Facebook Event Friday Aug 26, 3-4 MST

I know that there are too many types of kalimbas and karimbas to keep track of. But little by little, I can address that with my Facebook Live events. Please join me for a Facebook Live Session on the Modern Karimbas on Aug 26 2022, 3-4 PM MST (which is 6PM EDT). There is a one-day only 40% discount coupon code that will be revealed there. Download your program for the “Modern Karimbas” Facebook Live Event. The “Program” is a 2 page PDF document that lists the karimbas I’ll be playing, in order. I also indicate a few items you should pay attention to – right index finger technique for

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