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Just in time for Autumn, watch this short video full of Fall Vibes in which we compare and contrast 3 similar instruments we refer to as the "Keyboard Kalimbas": the B15, B17, and B17-Mini kalimbas by Hokema.

B17 Kalimba:
-17 metal tines
-Comes tuned to C-Major (may be re-tuned to alternate scales)
-Wide wood block with tines farther apart making it easy to play melodies and chords

B17-Mini Kalimba:
-17 metal tines
-Comes tuned to C-Major (may be re-tuned to alternate scales)
-Smaller wood block makes it easier to hold for smaller hands
-Tines are closer together so easy and fun to play glissandos (notes that glide up or down blending the tones into each other) by running the thumbs rapidly up or down multiple tines
For larger hands and fingers it's harder to play exact chords and melodies as tines are closer to one another

B15 Kalimba:
-15 metal tines
-Comes tuned to G-Major (may be re-tuned to alternate scales)
-Two rows with thicker tines on the bottom which produce pleasing grounding lower tones
-The two rows make it easy to play lovely chord combinations
-Watch and listen to this short video demonstration:

Though not an official instrument category by Hokema Kalimbas, we refer to these instruments as "Keyboard Kalimbas" as they contain full diatonic musical scales with notes in order going up the scale much like the way musical notes go up and down scales as laid out on a keyboard of a piano.

Diatonic scales contain 7 notes in a series of intervals including five whole steps and two half-steps. The major diatonic scale contains the familiar notes one can sing with do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti- then circling back again to "do". These notes then repeat over again as the notes continue to go up. That means our kalimbas with 17 tines have enough notes to go up this sequence 2.5 times, and the 15-tine instrument repeats twice (+1 extra note at the top.)

However unlike a piano or electric keyboard where the notes climb from low to higher building left to right, on these kalimbas the lowest note of the scale is located at the bottom center of the instrument, and the scale is played by the thumbs alternating plucking the tines right-left-right-left-right...etc. (or left-right-left right... for left-handers).

This allows for triads (groups of 3 notes that are harmonious with one another) to be right next to each other, making it super easy to play chords. Thus, the "keyboard kalimbas" are designed to be musical instruments where you can play both melodies and chords to create or accompany songs.

For musicians, these are truly musical instruments that can be used to play repertoire and/or write new compositions, play with other instrumentalists, and play while singing. Playing kalimba in this way does require a certain degree of musical knowledge, and practice is needed to be able to play sequences.

For more intuitive-playing of instruments - which means playing as you feel without practice or worrying about "wrong notes" - we would recommend instead of the keyboard kalimbas easier to play are the kalimbas and Sansulas from our Elemental Soundscapes collection. (Elemental Soundscapes are collections of instruments made to match each other with limited notes so that anything you play is harmonious. These make them much easier to play, but limit the choices such that songs and chord changes aren't possible the way they are with the "keyboard kalimbas".)

In this video you can get a quick overview of each instrument, hear what they sound like, and understand the differences between these 3 models.

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