Old Chromatic Kalimba

the First Chromatic Kalimba

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playing the old chromatic kalimba

I started developing the chromatic kalimba originally in 2003. This hand-made prototype took a long time to build, and was therefore never for sale. The chromatic kalimba is based on the African thumb piano (kalimba or mbira), but has a piano type layout instead of the traditional one. The tines are plucked by the fingers. The instrument is fully chromatic, with a range of more than 3 ½ octaves.

I have received quite some requests for this instrument throughout the years, and this lead me to design first the Linear Kalimba and now the new Chromatic Kalimba.

 

chromatic kalimba

the first chromatic kalimba

This instrument is not available for purchase right now. Instead, I can recommend the new Chromatic Kalimba