Hokema - B11 Kalimba Melody

Description

Kalimbas are metal-tined instruments which originated in southern Africa and which can be found there in countless variations.
Our Kalimba B 11 ‘Melody’ is made of solid American black cherry wood and meticulously hand-crafted. The surfaces are treated and polished with natural oils and waxes. The 11 tines are precisely tuned to the scale of G- Major, so that a large number of well-known songs can be played. The ‘Melody’ is also ideal for improvisation and intuitive playing.
We have positioned the long and short tines alternately to ensure ease of playing and in accordance with acoustic criteria.
The six shorter tines have been bent so that their ends are raised above the level of the longer ones so that they can easily be reached by the thumbs. When playing from the low to the high tones, the five long tines are plucked alternately by the thumbs beginning in the middle and moving outwards - the right thumb begins on Tine No. 6 – then the six shorter tines follow, also played from the middle outwards, whereby the left thumb begins on Tine No. 5.
Tabulature
The eleven tines are numbered from left to right. The even numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 represent the longer tines with the lower tones, the odd numbers stand for the shorter, bent tines with the higher tones. Normally – for single-voice melodies – the left thumb (L) plays the tines 1-6 and the right thumb (R) plays numbers 6-11.