Our interactive virtual playshop KALIMBA CAMPFIRE takes place live each month- simultaneously on Zoom and the Clubhouse Social Audio App where guests can be seen with their camera on, but participants have the luxury of participating with their camera off - mimicking the safety of playing around the dark of a campfire.
In June, our special guest for the moth was guest musician Robbi Kulamo - a longtime beloved member of the WE PLAY WELL TOGETHER community who's a celebrated children's education musical artist.
Robbi always inspires us with her free creative impulses, musicality and imaginative expression. In our meetup she shows how easy it is to play a background beat that helps you to rock out on the kalimba (as well as keep in time.)
Watch this video with edited highlights from Robbi's rockin' presentation with kalimba:
For more than 25 years, Robbi K's concerts have been joyous and exhilarating, with a focus on amusing and edifying the entire family, from parents to grandparents, toddlers to teens. Everybody participates with voices, hands, feet and hearts. Robbi was a 2021 contributor to the grammy nominated "All One Tribe" album. The 25-track project from the newly organized 1 Tribe Collective celebrates the rich culture and diversity that Black voices bring to family music by presenting the sounds of 24 family music artists from across the USA. Learn more about Robbi K.
the craftsmanship, (and craftswomanship) is incredible, and her sound. so resonant and otherworldly. I'm so happy with my new Monolina in G. I can't wait to play her for my community. Thank you Gabriele for your outstanding customer service.
A few years ago I became casually interested in the Kalimba because of its simplicity of design and playability. Without experience or a good point of reference I needed to taste a lot of flavors to sort out the choices. For a while, my discards kept the local Goodwill store supplied with inventory.
The feeding frenzy stopped when I discovered Hokema. Build and material quality is professional grade. The tines are not stiff, so you can play at any intensity without stressing a thumb nails. Resonance from the solid wood base and the resulting sustain are simply stunning. Even the high notes sing, unlike the flat 'tapping an aluminum pan' sound from my discards.
I first purchased the B-17, and later the smaller B-17 Mini. Comments above apply to both. There is no problem holding, playing, or carrying around either instrument. The Mini's smaller footprint might be more comfortable for small hands. I just like the smaller package. Because the B-17's wood block is wider, it has more space between the tines. Both instruments appear to use the same tine assembly materials, but the Mini has a shorter cross bar. The Mini's tine spacing is grouped, but they can be adjusted to make the spacing more uniform like the B-17. In that mode, even with the smaller block the tine spacing is noticeably wider than some other Kalimbas I've tried. My thumbs are average width for a 5'8" person and my nails are normally rounded (not pointed), and I have no trouble playing individual notes.
Tablature is available around the net for 17-key Kalimbas (RiffSpot has a nice ebook), so you can play tunes without reading music on both the B-17 and B-17 Mini.
