Kalimba:the piano for thumbs

Act I

Kalimba, mbira, thumb piano: one family, three names

A kalimba is a row of steel tines fixed to a wooden board and plucked with the thumbs. The family is called the lamellophone, and its oldest and best-known branch is the mbira of southern Africa.

None of this is the Indian instrument some searches wander toward. The kalimba is African in origin, and the answer below to that question is a short no.

Act III

Seventeen keys or eight: choosing a kalimba layout

Seventeen keys in C is the usual kalimba layout and the one most songbooks assume. The lowest note sits in the middle and the rest climb outwards, alternating left and right, so each thumb gets its own half of the scale.

• 17 keys: a little over two octaves, enough for most folk and pop melodies with room for a bass note under them.
• 8 keys: one octave, enough for simple tunes and for small hands, and a gentle way to learn the pattern.

Act V

Tuning a kalimba with a small hammer

A new kalimba arrives roughly in tune and then drifts, because steel tines settle and a wooden board responds to the weather. That is why the hammer is in the bag.

1. Find a quiet room and a tuning app.
2. Pluck one tine at a time and compare it with the target note.
3. A longer free length gives a lower note and a shorter one a higher note. The hammer nudges the tine along under its bridge.
4. Tap lightly, in small steps, and check after every tap.
5. Follow the maker’s leaflet on which end to tap.

Act VII

The kalimba that tops the bill

We would take the Rayzm, for its solid body and its thumb protectors. Behind it the Moozica makes the better ornament and the FLSEPAMB has the fullest bag of extras.

• For a gift that arrives ready to play: Rayzm or FLSEPAMB, both with a hammer and a full set of extras.
• For someone who likes the look of the thing: Moozica, with its two woods and its gloss.
• For a reader who prefers printed notes: Newlam, with letters and notes raised into the keys.
• For a child or a sceptic: the MiaoYin, one octave and no commitment.

A kalimba is the quiet relative of the tongue drum, and the tuned steel of a handpan sits at the louder end of the same idea. Anyone who wants a keyboard instead should look at the melodica, and the full bill goes further.

Rayzm 17-key kalimba, mahoganyPlayers who want a solid wood body

See it on Amazon

Encore

Thumbs up: questions about the kalimba, answered

• Is the kalimba difficult to learn?

  Not for a first tune. The notes are laid out in a fixed pattern, each thumb has its own half, and most kits include a number or note guide. The hard part is staying in tune, not playing.

• Is the kalimba an Indian instrument?

  No. It belongs to the lamellophone family, whose best-known branch is the mbira of southern Africa. Searches wander toward India because the word sounds as though they should.

• What culture is the kalimba from?

  The instrument comes from southern African traditions, above all the mbira of the Shona people in Zimbabwe. The name kalimba was popularised in the twentieth century by the ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey.

• Does a new kalimba need tuning?

  Check it. Kits arrive roughly in tune with C as the home note, but steel tines settle and the wood moves with the weather, so keep the hammer and a tuning app to hand.

• Which kalimba suits a young child?

  The 8-key mini is the simplest: one octave, a cord to hang it by and nothing to learn about layout. The 17-key models suit a child who already reads music or wants a full tune.