Mid-East Thumb Piano Large
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Customer Review
Not For Beginners
At $30, this kalimba is an excellent value and I plan to buy a couple more for various tunings. However, the MidEast Music kalimba is not an instrument for beginning musicians. As noted in the negative reviews below, it is very difficult to tune due to the thicker tines. However, once tuned the added mass provides a much warmer tone than the Hugh Tracy kalimba. That added thickness also makes the instrument a bit more difficult to play, but more difficult like a guitar set up for jazz or the heavier action of a concert piano.Also, the MidEast Music kalimba comes with no manual or tuning instructions and finding that information on the web was not an easy Google search. To tune this instrument, I had to buy a small punch and a tack hammer; pliers didn't cut it and I doubt anyone could tune this instrument without these tools. That said, once this kalimba IS tuned, it stays in tune!Finally, the tines arrived rough and unpolished, and they would tear up someone's...
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Product Description
Kalimba. Origin Country: Pakistan. 2.1 lbs. Made by Mid-East.
Rosewood thumb piano, 5" x 7", 17 steel keys and two vibrato holes on the back. The thumb piano originates in Africa. It is also known as the mbira or likembe. The metal keys are mounted on a wooden box that acts as the resonating chamber. To play, rest the thumb piano on the fingers of both hands and hold it between your palms. Cover the vibrato holes with your fingers. Then pluck the keys with your thumbs. As you play you can un-cover and cover the vibrato holes as you like. Many different tunings are acceptable, according to personal preference. Specific tuning of a thumb piano is only an issue when two instruments are played together; then they should generally agree in tuning. Otherwise, the tuning is subjective and should only be pleasing to the player. The longer keys have lower pitches and shorter keys have higher pitches. The keys can be adjusted by tapping them in or out to adjust their length, and therefore their pitch. Top to learn more
Relaxing fun!
When I was in college, a friend of mine owned a kalimba and allowed me to borrow it for a few days. I found that picking out tunes on it was fun and relaxing, and that I enjoyed the sound. When I saw this item on line, I decided to see if that would still be true. It is! The instrument was delivered promptly, and was well packaged. It is sturdy, and the wood grain is pleasing to the eye. The only reason I didn't give this five stars was that it was shipped badly out of tune, but that was corrected after a brief search on the Internet. It sounds wonderful now! Another thing to watch for is that tiny amounts of the chrome plating on the keys might flake off a bit at first, so you might want to give them a good wiping down to avoid getting any metal splinters. Overall, I'm glad I have it.
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Wrong item