How to play the kalimba: your first evening

To play the kalimba, you hold it in both hands and push the tips of the metal tines down with your thumbs, so they flick off and ring. Because the notes alternate left and right, you play melodies by switching between your left and right thumb.

This guide takes you through one evening of practice, from picking it up for the first time to playing a complete song. All you need is a 17-key kalimba in C major and about an hour.

Hold the kalimba with both hands, the tines pointing towards you and the short tines on the outside.

• Your fingers rest underneath or along the back of the body. Keep them relaxed.
• Your thumbs lie on top, above the tines.
• If your kalimba is a hollow box with a sound hole at the back, keep your fingers off it for now. Later you can cover and uncover it for a wah-wah effect.
• Do not squeeze. A light grip lets the body vibrate and sound fuller.

Sit upright, with your elbows loose. Many people find it comfortable to hold the kalimba a little tilted, with the tine ends slightly up.

Put the pad of your thumb near the tip of the middle tine. Press down a few millimetres and let the tine slide off your thumb. That is it.

A few things that help:

• Pluck near the tip. Close to the bridge the tine is stiff and sounds dull.
• Use the edge of your nail and skin together for a clear tone. Pure skin sounds softer, pure nail brighter. Try both.
• Move downwards, not sideways. A sideways swipe can catch the neighbouring tine.
• Let it ring. Do not touch the tine again straight away. The sustain is what makes a kalimba sound lovely.

If a tine buzzes, you are probably touching it while it vibrates, or the tine next to it is ringing along. Lift your thumb clear after each note.

The middle tine is the lowest note, C. From there the notes go up, switching sides each time. On most 17-key kalimbas:

• middle: C (1)
• first to the left: D (2)
• first to the right: E (3)
• second to the left: F (4)
• second to the right: G (5)
• third to the left: A (6)
• third to the right: B (7)
• fourth to the left: C one octave higher (1 with a dot)

The numbers in brackets are what you see in kalimba tabs. Many kalimbas have them engraved on the tines. If yours does not, note stickers save you a lot of counting.

Now play C D E F G A B C slowly:

1. Start on the middle tine (C). Most players use the right thumb here.
2. Left thumb on D.
3. Right thumb on E.
4. Left thumb on F.
5. Right thumb on G.
6. Left thumb on A.
7. Right thumb on B.
8. Left thumb on the high C.

Do this five times, slowly, then back down. You will notice that your thumbs zigzag outwards. That zigzag is the core movement of kalimba playing. Once it feels natural, most melodies follow.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star uses only the first six notes, so it is perfect for a first song. In numbers:

• 1 1 5 5 6 6 5
• 4 4 3 3 2 2 1
• 5 5 4 4 3 3 2
• 5 5 4 4 3 3 2
• 1 1 5 5 6 6 5
• 4 4 3 3 2 2 1

Play each line slowly. Hold the last note of every line a bit longer. If you get lost, say the numbers out loud while you play. You can also follow along with the playable version in our song library.

Once that works, try Ode to Joy: 3 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 2.

Pluck the middle C (1) and the two tines to its right, E (3) and G (5), at the same time by sliding your right thumb across them. You hear a C major chord. Play it at the end of Twinkle Twinkle for a nice finish.

• Sore thumb. Normal on the first days. Play in short sessions of 15 to 20 minutes and it goes away quickly.
• Notes sound out of tune. A tine may have shifted in transport. Check it with a tuner app and see How to tune a kalimba.
• Everything rings into a blur. That is part of the sound, but you can damp a tine by touching it lightly with your thumb.
• You keep hitting the wrong tine. Look at the instrument, not the tab, for the first few days. Stickers help a lot.

That depends on how often you play. Short, daily sessions work better than one long one per week. After a few evenings most people can play simple melodies. Playing melody and chords together takes longer, and is a good goal for the first months.

Learn to read the numbers fluently in How to read kalimba tabs, then pick a song from the song library. No kalimba yet? The Kalimba Starter Set has everything for this first evening, including note stickers.