Description
This instrument has the same tuning thought to be the original mbira tuning from over 1000 years ago. Great for kids or beginners who want an African connection.
Andrew Tracey, Hugh Tracey’s son, recognized that every ancient African lamellaphone (ie, kalimba) had the same eight notes placed prominently in the center of the instrument, and the ancient traditional tunes seemed to be based on these eight notes. Andrew dubbed these eight notes the “kalimba core”, and further hypothesized that these eight notes formed the “original African mbira” from 1300 years ago when the people of the Zambezi River Valley started to use metal.
This instrument usually ships in G tuning, but we can tune it to C if you ask.
Listen to these sound clips:
This student karimba is usually in the key of G so it goes with the Student Karimba book. The ninth note is a redundant middle G on the far right side, which makes this instrument match the lower row of tines on the 17-Note Hugh Tracey Karimba.