Learn to play Kalimba B 11 - A short playing guide

Kalimbas are reed instruments that originated in southern Africa and can be found there in countless shapes and designs. Our Kalimba B11 "Melody" is carefully handcrafted from solid American cherry (black cherry). The surfaces are treated with vegetable oils and waxes and polished. The eleven reeds are precisely tuned to the G major scale, which means that a variety of well-known songs can be played. The "Melody" is also just as suitable for improvisation and intuitive playing.

Learning to play the Kalimba B11 is not difficult at all. When arranging the reeds on the Kalimba, we have mounted long and short reeds alternately for reasons of playing technique and sound. The six shorter reeds have been bent so that their ends are at a higher level than those of the long reeds, so that they can be easily reached by the thumbs. When playing the notes from low to high, the five long reeds are first plucked alternately from the middle outwards with both thumbs - the right thumb starts on reed number 6 - then the six short reeds follow, also from the middle outwards. The left thumb starts on reed number 5.

reeds

Protect the reeds from moisture. The high-quality spring steel is not rustproof, because unlike the material we use, stainless steel does not have outstanding sound properties. To protect against corrosion, we have given the reeds an elaborate plasma coating. We still recommend wiping the reeds with a soft cloth after learning to play the kalimba.

The different moods

We have set the tuning to G major.

Play the scale by numbers:

tab

We have numbered the eleven reeds from left to right. The even numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 are the long, deeper tones, the odd numbers are the shorter, bent reeds.

Normally – for monophonic melodies – the left thumb (L) is responsible for reeds 1 to 6 and the right thumb (R) for 6 to 11.

Our song examples are presented in notes and tabs, so that you can learn the Kalimba B11 even without knowing how to read music and simply play by numbers. Try to avoid using tablature as early as possible and play by heart.

Learn to play two-part songs with the Kalimba B11

If you pluck with both thumbs at the same time, you can also play chords or two-part melodies. The thumbs often have to jump to the other side to produce the desired sounds. First practice the two-part scale using numbers and you will see how easy and motivating it is to learn to play two-part music on the Kalimba. The Kalimba songbook contains further instructions and examples.

Our further development of the Kalimba

Because it is so much fun to learn to play the Kalimba B11, we decided to further develop the best features of this instrument. The result was launched in 2001 under the name Sansula. Browse our shop and discover high-quality instruments and useful instructions on how to Learn to play the Sansula can.