They exported them across America, Africa, and even in Europe. Then, he later founded the African Musical Instruments (AMI) and made good quality kalimbas.
KALIMBA MAGIC ARCHIVE
Tracey first founded the International Library of African Music as the official archive of his recordings about the music of Africa.
The Americans were hooked about the lovely sound of it and gave it a name “thumb piano.” In 1954, Hugh Tracey discovered the instrument from ancient African tribe and introduced it to the world as kalimba. However, according to some books, they were displayed but they lack on studies about their usage and origin until Gerhard Kubik made a thorough study about the kalimba in 1998. Some traditional versions of kalimba were also seen in European museums. They found mbira tines in Africa that were made over 1000 years ago. Likewise, there are some discoveries made by archeologists that prove the age of discovery of mbira or kalimba. Dos Santos also described the sound as “sweet and gentle” and a “harmony of accordant sounds.” He also took note about the instrument’s soft sound that made it popular inside the palace of their kings. Based on these notes, the kalimba was already discovered by the Portuguese explorers but remained a classic African instrument back then.īut missionary Father Dos Santos was able to document about the 9-note-iron-tined musical instrument he called “ambira.”Īccording to the document, the player can make a sound using their thumb nails. There are early documents that tell about kalimba. It is sometimes called as mbira, sansa, and karimba but kalimba gained more popularity as the official name of the instrument. In fact, the instrument is already between 1300 to 3000 years old. It is a combination of the Latin word “lamella” meaning “plate” and the Greek word “phone” meaning “sound.” Each tribe from Africa has a different name for kalimba. This instrument may look plain but there is a huge history about its discovery.Īccording to historians, the original name for kalimba is lamellophone.
Kalimba is a traditional African thumb piano. But aside from these, there is a simple and handy instrument that is slowly gaining popularity nowadays-the kalimba. There is a wide array of instruments, such as drums, piano, flute, guitar, and even the ukulele that many music enthusiasts prefer to learn. You can read the article in it’s entirety on Kalimba Magic’s site here.Most of us are familiar with the musical instruments widely used in the modern and contemporary music industry. (To see why I have put overtones in parentheses, read the footnote at the bottom of this article.) The tines have the look and feel of traditional African tines, but with the solidness and sustain of a modern kalimba.”
Each one is hand pounded, and the “overtones” are tuned.
I have only played one of the Colorado Soundscapes scales, but it did not disappoint, and I am assuming each scale they will offer will help the player paint a beautiful picture with their music. One of the amazing aspects of the hang drum is the wide array of scales they come in, each amazing and inspiring of wonderful music in its own way.
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