Kalimbas are thumb pianos, played by plucking metal tines with the thumbs.
At the accessible end, our range includes handmade kalimbas from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, built from upcycled tins and calabash gourd.
The tuned Master Series kalimbas come in rosewood and black walnut.
You’ll also find Shona mbiras from Zimbabwe, the older instrument the kalimba descends from, including pieces by master maker Garikai Tirikoti of Chitungwiza.
The kalimba is the modern, accessible adaptation of the mbira, the older Shona instrument from Zimbabwe that still carries ceremonial significance.
Both are thumb pianos: metal tines mounted on a body and plucked with the thumbs, where sounding one tine sets its neighbours vibrating for a layered sound.
The mbiras here are made by Garikai Tirikoti of Chitungwiza, a gwenyambira, the Shona term for a master mbira player who has reached the highest level of the tradition.
The most accesible first kalimba is the Indo medium Kalimba, which is user-friendly, easy to tune, and has a sweet, versatile range.
The natural next step is the 17-key Master Series in rosewood, tuned to C Major, the layout most songbooks and online tabs are written for, so your learning carries straight over.
From there the 34-key Master Series kalimba in black walnut opens a wider range for more complex playing, with the professional Shona mbiras by Garikai Tirikoti beyond it.
Kalimbas are retunable by sliding each tine up or down, which shortens or lengthens the plucked section and raises or lowers its pitch.
The Master Series models arrive pre-tuned, C Major for the 17-key rosewood and B Major for the 34-key walnut, and hold their tuning well, with a quick adjustment using the included tuner hammer whenever you want to refine it.
Shona mbiras come in fixed keys, each a distinct piece, so Garikai Tirikoti’s range includes options like the Golden Eye in G, the Chiffre in B, and the Moonraker in D.
The Master Series kalimbas come as a full kit: the instrument plus a pickup, tuner hammer, songbook, stickers, a cloth, and a premium bag.
The Burkina Faso handmade kalimbas and the Shona mbiras by Garikai Tirikoti are sold as the instrument alone.
If you’d like the tuner, pickup, and bag included, choose the 17-key rosewood or 34-key walnut Master Series.
Kalimba care is easy. Keep the instrument away from damp and direct heat, and give the tines an occasional wipe with the cloth to keep the steel bright.
The upcycled tin and calabash gourd bodies of the Burkina kalimbas and the mubvamaropa wood of the mbiras all last longest kept dry and out of strong sun.
Kalimbas and mbiras ship under the standard African Drumming policy and can be returned within 14 days if they are new and unused.
Every kalimba and mbira also carries a 6-month warranty on making and structural faults.
Within the kalimba range, the recycled pieces are the Burkina pieces from Ouagadougou: the Burkina Tin, made from upcycled coffee and food tins, and the Burkina Gourd Kalimba, which pairs a calabash gourd with reclaimed steel keys.
Our range also includes the cane jinglers are woven from rattan in Ghana and filled with recycled metal fragments, and the frikywa thumb bells are hand-forged from recycled iron.
The lap cajons by Tawanda Gadzikwa go furthest, built here in Victoria from reclaimed timbers and old skateboards.
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