BugsGear Chromatic Kalimba
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Have you ever been frustrated because you couldn't play your favorite song without a semitone? Good news for you! A chromatic kalimba that allows you to freely change the key while playing is now available! Easy to learn and play, it can be played widely from beginners to experts. Enjoy music anywhere with the "Piano-type Kalimba", which is convenient to carry and weighs only 700g!
Patented bridge system
Features of "Piano-type Chromatic Kalimba"
* The Tines layout is the same as the piano
You can grasp the position of the sound at a glance, and you can play immediately.
* Uses already tuned integrated key
No tuning required forever once it's tuned!
* Chromatic (chromatic scale, 12 tones per octave)
You can freely make any key transpose or semitones during play!
* 21 whole tones + 15 semitones, 36 sounds in total
A wide range of two and a half octaves in total for you!
* Variety of performance that is not bound by the limits of existing
kalimba
Melody, backing, and even chords. This chromatic Kalimba gives you all kind of variation like a traditional piano!
* Acoustic engineering design
Rich resonance and volume!
* Convenient to carry
Succeeded in miniaturization with a two-layer structure of white key and black key. Feel free to play anywhere!
* Piano sheet music can be played as it is
What is chromatic kalimba (piano type kalimba)?
As you everyone know, it's Made in Africa, they are called Sanza and Mbira, some people called Thumb Piano, which has a clear and beautiful tone, and many people who are tired of everyday life are looking for it for healing.
We newly analyzed these traditional Kalimba with a half-tone scale makes the tine arrangement in the same way as the piano keyboard that we are familiar with, and makes it possible to play as soon as you get the instrument.
Whole tone key 21 notes Semitone key 15 notes Total 36 keys
Chromatic is a lexical term that means "semitone" and like a piano keyboard, there are 12 notes per octave, including E-F,B-C which is already have semitones. This chromatic kalimba has made it possible for those who have learned piano or keyboard instruments to play without having to learn or practice anymore.
So which scale is the existing kalimba?
Since it was started in Africa, the Englishman Hugh Tracey developed the folk instrument used for rhythm accompaniment when singing songs with a limited simple scale into a symmetrical key arrangement and spread it all over the world. The kalimba that was made is composed of a pentatonic (C,D,E,G,A 5 scales) or a diatonic (C,D,E,F,G,A,Bthat has only 7 notes) with no semitones other than the E-F and B-C per octave.
Pentatonic Kalimba scale and tuning
The most popular 17-note diatonic Kalimba.there are various limitations, such as no semitones, an unfamiliar symmetric scale tine arrangement, and the need for new tuning in the case of key transpose.
The deceased Hugh Tracey also made a chromatic version after many attempts but it looks not that successful job
Hugh Tracy's Chromatic version. Semitone tine located behind.
It's inconvenient as the semitone keys cannot be seen while playing.
BugsGear chromatic kalimba's sound
BugsGear Chromatic Kalimba story
Why isn't it similar to a piano at all while being a Thumb Piano?
Everything started with this question.
Pentatonic or diatonic kalimba has been popular all over the world since 1960, but I searched online to find out why there is no chromatic version and why the keyboard layout can't be like a piano. As a result, there are a lot of chromatic versions, but most kalimba has a custom version that is difficult to popularized because the keys are like hooks, unlike the piano keyboard layout, so I decided to make it by myself. Although it is the result of 2018 that I made (video below), development was stopped because there were various problems.
The idea was good, but it was difficult to turn the screw because the pressure of the key was so strong that the bridge supporting the key went deeper, and it failed due to the vibration noise of the screw, lack of sound, and uneven height of the black key.
As a result,we realized that it's not possible to make a piano keyboard array with conventional Kalimba tine mounting method.So,I worked out mount the key on the guitar or ukulele shape cascaded bridge, with tine like harmonica lead with rivets.
Tried cascade type ukulele bridge
Then, this time, I thought about integrating all the tines like a Orgel-music box
Harmonica type reeds and rivet mounting method has failed due to Inefficiency.
Whole and semitone keys that imitate music box comb teeth
The Kalimba body was also designed by embodying the curve of a grand piano. But, there's still problem remained
As a result of various troubles, We solved this problem by making the direction of the tines diagonal, and tine spacing 4 mm, 32 tones total.
Now we can play the Kalimba with tuumb without a problem
As a result, a mass production availble piano keyboard-type chromatic kalimba was born, which no one had accomplished for more than 60 years since diatonic kalimba created.
And it became a new musical instrument that combined the three elements of the Orgel-music box invented from Switzerland in the 1800s, the African folk instrument, and the piano keyboard method!
Kalimba-related patents owned by Stringnet
1. Methods and equipment for implementing the same chromatic kalimba as the piano keyboard arrangement
2. Method and equipment to add a semitone key to an existing diatonic kalimba
BugsGear Chromatic Kalimba Specifications
All parts of the BugsGear Chromatic Kalimba are designed by Philip.K with CAD confirmed the exact dimensions after pilot production.
Message from BugsGear Chromatic Kalimba Designer Philip.K
