… He shares how he created the homemade comb-style idiophone in the video above. I made two videos on how I go through the process just click on them if you feel prefer learning through videos instead. 1. We can make different types of kalimba and tunings (minor or custom) on request. A standard kalimba has seventeen keys, and they are tuned to the C major scale. They are great value for money when considering how much instrument you are getting for relatively little money, and the effort? What you want to do is to either loosen it or tighten the tine, and the buzzing will stop. Place it in a pan of water, and drape it with a wet towel. The YouTube is alive with the sound of music, and what better source than a kalimba? It is played by plucking metal tines of various lengths with your thumbs. Select a dried gourd with a good, deep bowl or a shape that you like. In this article, I will show you how to make a kalimba, covering all the materials and tools you will need, which should be doable even for the most DIY averse individuals out there! If you drop your kalimba, or if you get the tines caught in a bag or on your shirt sleeve, you can mess up the tuning. But did you know that making your own kalimba is also a very easy project? In this post I will try to condense a written walkthrough guide on how to make kalimba tabs from piano tutorials. If you don’t mind the size of the instrument, and if you are looking for an authentic sound, a kalimba with a resonator might be a great option for you. Find a resonating body. This kalimba will work with other kalimbas in G major tuning, other kalimbas in A minor tuning (such as Maurice White’s Evil Tuning on a Treble or Alto), and the standard A minor Sansula tuning. If you are one of the people that opted for “the proper way” of playing kalimba, growing nails can also prove to be problematic. In the tutorial video above, we walk though how to make your very own multi-sample instrument, using a kalimba to demonstrate. “Most percussion instruments that are not drums are idiophones,” explains Wikipedia: Oct 13, 2013 - How to build your own Kalimba. Kalimba Tines are metal strips on a thumb piano whose primary function is to produce sound when plucked with the tip of the thumb or thumbnail. The spring steel was simply cut down to shape and the ends rounded off, to provide some comfort when playing. For creating some Kalimba tabs you can now use a simple software to generate the Kalimba tabs for the song that you love. Your goal is also to make the same distance between each tine. Not a whole lot of how-to's out there on how to make a kalimba, so thought I'd make a quick one. First, I cut the poplar into two even pieces, and glued them together. The ‘karimba’ technique allows you to rotate your right index finger in the opposite direction of the clock. An mbira -- also known as a kalimba -- is an African thumb piano. This technique is used for playing octave pairs, but on the right side of the kalimba, not on the left. You are most welcome to contact us to discuss the options. Twist them behind the back of the face, and make sure once again that the tube is pressed TIGHTLY against the tines. While that dried, I cut the… We explore, share, and sell the endless possibilities of kalimbas, exotic kalimba tunings, kalimba tablature, books, ebooks & downloads, videos, and songs. Place the kalimba in the palms of your hands with the tines facing you. Made from: - Old lawn-rake tines for the twangers (I've seen these tines in varying widths, but the ones I used are 11/64" wide). They are quality and solid instruments that can last you a lifetime. Apr 17, 2019 - Not a whole lot of how-to's out there on how to make a kalimba, so thought I'd make a quick one. (Mbira and kalimba are two of the more popular names.) Most of the kalimba Youtubers like Sandrah Araja, Ipida and April Yang made their own tabs, but they don’t mention in detail on how they made it. African craftsman make mbiras out of almost anything, including gourds, coconuts and wooden boxes -- anything that will resonate. Step 7: The Bottle Kalimba，Step 8: Heart kalimba. So here are a full list of reasons why a Kalimba is worth it and how they will benefit you . Many who make their own kalimbas make the tines from metal rakes, cut down to size. If you play very hard, you may need to retune weekly. Basically, we help you get the most out of your relationship with your kalimba. Click on the tine and then on the corresponding piano key below. By playing the tines in the right order, you can play melodies and chords. Also, I know of several people who are making, experimenting and in at least three cases selling versions of this instrument. Make Sure Your Nails Stay Strong. Make a note of the position of the tines in the other steps.Step 4: The Faceplate Assembly，Step 5: Attaching the Tines and Completing the Instrument，Step 6: Other Ideas! Between 8 to 17 metal tines are spaced across the instrument at differing lengths, producing individual tones facilitating musical melody creation. So, if you have a kalimba like the Gecko one in the key of C, you will start with the longest tine, and mark it as 1 or C (or both). I tried searching how to make kalimba tabs because there are many songs I want to play, but there are no tabs available. This tension is what allows the instrument to function. One thing which ended up working equally great was a drain cleaning strip, used for unclogging drains. There's nothing wrong in that, but I wasn't about to buy an entire rake to make a few tines.