Are you a musician looking for a different sound? Do you really like the sound of soothing tones? Maybe you just want a relatively easy instrument to learn? If any of these sound like you then you should look into the Lotmusic Kalimba.
What is a Kalimba?
Depending on where you live you may not have ever heard of a kalimba before. I know in North America where I am from I had never heard of one. The Kalimba is an instrument from Africa which consists of a wooden sound board and metal tines. It is commonly referred to as a thumb piano. Each tine is a piece of bent metal that vibrates the wooden sound board when it is plucked. Each tine is a different length so it can create a different musical note. The tone that is produced is very soothing. It is very similar to a xylophone.
Design
The design of the LotMusic Kalimba is very nice. It is a wooden box made out of mahogany. The box has a main sound hole on the front (like an acoustic guitar) and two smaller holes on the back. There are also two areas on the front/sides that are notched so your hands fit a little better when playing. The wood itself is very thin. This helps with the sound vibration and keeps the instrument very light. The finish is smooth and the color of the wood is consistent. The model that I bought is called “Horse” so there is an etched design of a horse on the bottom front corner.
The tines are made of metal that is nicely machined and polished. There are no sharp edges anywhere. Each tine is engraved with the note that it produces. This is very helpful when you are trying to learn how to play. The model that I purchased has 17 total tines though you can find kalimbas with less if you would prefer.
Package Contents
The Lotmusic Kalimba is a very good deal in my opinion. It doesn’t cost very much and as I mentioned above it is designed very well. When you buy this kalimba though you get more than just the instrument. The Lotmusic Kalimba also comes with a microfiber cleaning cloth, some stickers to label the tines for easier identification, a instruction booklet and a small tuning hammer. The best thing about this pack though, besides the instrument, is that it includes a hard shell EVA case. The case is lined with soft fabric and fits the kalimba perfectly. It is a very high quality case and provides great protection for your kalimba.
Case closed 
Case open with kalimba 
Included Accessories
Use
The tines on my kalimba were all in tune when I received it. If you notice that any of the tines sound out of tune though they can be easily adjusted. You use the small hammer that is included to tap the metal up or down slightly. The longer that you make tine the lower the note and the shorter the key, the higher.
To play the kalimba you hold it in your hands and pluck the tines with your thumbs. That is all there is to it. If you want to create a wah-wah effect then you wave your fingers over the two small holes on the back. The sound that is produced has a very soothing tone. Much like a xylophone and similar to a lot of lullabies.
I am not a musician by any stretch of the imagination. My wife on the other hand is. She writes and records her own songs and is also a music teacher. According to her the sound produced is very true to the notes that are etched on the tines. She is also very intrigued by the sound that is produced. It really is very unique. Since all of the notes are clearly labelled it is very easy to learn even for someone like myself. In a very short period of time I managed to remember a few short easy tunes.
Conclusion
The Lotmusic Kalimba is a well constructed, very good sounding instrument. It comes at a great price and includes a lot of different accessories. It is suitable for people of all musical ability and is very easy to learn. If you are looking for an instrument that you can just pick up and play or something to add to your music that you record then I highly recommend the Lotmusic Kalimba.
Click the pic on the left to see an unboxing video of the Lotmusic Kalimba.
If you are interested in the Lotmusic Kalimba you can click here to go straight to Amazon to take a look at it. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. So if you do purchase something using this link I will earn a small commission on the sale at no extra charge to you. Obviously it is completely up to you whether or not you want to use this link but if you do, thank you very much.