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About Tunings
Thumb Fun Kalimbas offers the more common tunings of:
- C Major
- D Major
- G Major
- G Minor
- C Pentatonic
- D Pentatonic
- G Pentatonic
"So what does this mean?"
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A Kalimba's tuning can be broken down into two parts.
Lets start with the second part: major, minor and pentatonic
The word major refers to the most common Western scale,
you probably know it by heart:
"Doe, a deer, a female Deer..."
That's the one.
The major scale has seven notes before it repeats itself and they are:
Doe - Rey - Mi - Fa - So - La - Ti - Doe
That's a major scale
(diatonic).
A minor scale is also available and is usually considered a more emotive key.
"So then what is a pentatonic?"
A diatonic major or minor key is a western scale, there are other options around the world. Pentatonic is a common scale used globally such as with Native American flutes, some South American instruments, Asian as well as some African instruments.
"So how does it affect the sound of a Kalimba?"
The pentatonic has a five note scale as opposed to the major's seven note scale. By omitting the 4th and 7th steps (goodbye Fa and Ti) the scale becomes more fluid.
We recommend the Pentatonic for people who want to use the Kalimba as a free-flowing instrument or for a relaxing way to end a stressful day.
"OK, I think I got it, but what does the key of C, D, and G mean?"
The beggining note of each scale is the key that it's in.
C major (diatonic) starts on C, and walks up the scale C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
C minor (diatonic) starts on C, and walks up the scale C, D, E b, G, A b, B b, C.
(Notice C minor has three flats)
C major pentatonic starts on C, and walks up the scale C, D, E, G, A, C.
(Notice the fourth and seventh steps are omitted, F & B.)
Feel free to contact us if you would like more information about tunings.
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