The Hokema B17 Mini Kalimba: Designed for Smaller Hands

The B17 Mini Kalimba by Hokema was specially designed with smaller hands in mind. More easily playable for children, young adults, and anyone with smaller hands, it delivers the same full musical experience as the original B17 — in a more comfortable, compact form.

The Joy of Glissandos

One of the standout features of the B17 Mini is that its metal tines are mounted more closely together. This makes it easy to play glissandos — a continuous slide upward or downward between two or more notes. Simply sweep your thumbs up or down across the tines and the notes blend seamlessly into each other, producing a delightful, flowing sound effect.

Same Layout as the B17, Smaller Scale

The B17 Mini shares the exact same musical layout and tuning as the original B17: a beautiful block of American Cherry wood with metal tines fanning out across two-and-a-half octaves of the C-Major diatonic scale. The lowest root note sits at the center bottom, with the scale building outward left and right, played by alternating thumbs.

Because of this layout, chord triads sit adjacent to each other — making chords easy to see and song accompaniment straightforward to learn. The B17 Mini also includes chord magnets so you can mark the chords you want to play.

Watch this 2-minute video to hear the glissandos and see the chord magnets in action:

Kalimbas are metal-tined instruments originating in southern Africa — thousands of years old — and now found in countless variations worldwide. The B17 Mini joins our full lineup of Hokema instruments including the Sansula, Kalimba Electro, and more.

Shop all Hokema Kalimbas →