Whether you want to build a simple kalimba from scratch or personalize your instrument with wood, paint, and stain, this collection of 25 DIY Kalimba Projects is for every skill level. Whether you want to keep it simple with just one or two notes or add more notes and various playable styles like bass and mandolin, there are options here for you. The projects are designed to be easy enough for a beginner to execute but also have some simple variations so that more advanced woodworkers will find them challenging and rewarding.
Simple DIY Kalimba Projects
The Kalimba is an instrument with ancient origins and modern appeal. This unique book presents 25 innovative DIY projects that explore kalimba construction, design, and performance. Kalimba maker Scott Richards offers tips and tricks to make your own Kalimba from everything from beer cans to cigar boxes and wine bottles—for little more than the cost of a new toy! Throughout are inspirational photographs, instructions for tools and materials needed, and illustrations detailing each project's assembly diagrams.
What Is A Kalimba?
A kalimba (or mbira) is an African musical instrument consisting of a wooden board with metal keys. When played, the keys produce different tones depending on where they are placed on the board. The Kalimba is usually played by rubbing it with the hands or with one's fingers. The sound the instrument produces varies according to its size and the material used in its construction. In Zimbabwe, kalimbas are widely used as a traditional instrument during ceremonies and celebrations at weddings, funerals, and other occasions.
Benefits Of DIY Kalimba Projects
Kalimbas are beautiful, fun instruments that have many benefits:
- They're inexpensive, so you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a professional kalimba to start playing.
- You can make them yourself with local hardware or craft store supplies.
- Kalimbas are easy to learn and play with, which makes them great for children and adults alike. Their music also has a calming effect on people who hear it.
How To Make A Simple Kalimba
Want to know how to make a kalimba? This DIY guide shows you the simple process with step-by-step instructions. You only need a few supplies, like a wooden box, aluminum extrusion, and a few other tools. It's quite durable and easy to build. You'll have fun playing this instrument as well! This project is great for beginners and experts alike, so get ready to discover your inner musician!
DIY Kalimba
Build a kalimba that is more durable than other DIY versions. A kalimba is an African musical instrument in the idiophone family, which consists of a wooden soundboard with metal tines. It's played by scraping the tines with your fingers and flipping them with your thumb. Today is the day if you ever want to learn how to make your own DIY Kalimba! This guide will take you from start to finish: gathering materials, making your Kalimba, and getting started playing.
How To Make A Kalimba With Coconut
The Kalimba is a musical instrument that has garnered a lot of popularity lately. Plastic bottle kalimbas can be so boring. Here is a fun twist on the Kalimba: a coconut shell! You will need some basic tools and supplies, but that's it. Don't just throw that coconut away after you eat it! Here are the steps to make your very own homemade Kalimba with it. The coconut shell works perfectly for a kalimba because they have a resonating quality which is perfect for music. It is an East African instrument and one that you can easily make at home with just a few scrap materials.
How To Make A Kalimba With Wooded Springs
Try this woodworking project if you're looking for a unique and fun way to create music. It's simple and only requires a few basic tools and materials so that you can get started on the Kalimba with wooden springs in no time. This woodworking guide will show you how to make a kalimba with wooden springs. You'll only need basic tools, materials, and supplies readily available in your local hardware store or home improvement center.
How To Make A Kalimba Thumb Piano
This kalimba thumb piano will be fun, easy, and a great learning experience. You'll love how it sounds, brings back memories of childhood, and it's also a wonderful technique instrument to learn how to play at an early age. Making a kalimba is easy and fun. This version is compact and portable but has great sound production and durability. Made from a wooden board, a thumb piano can be played by hand or with other objects such as spoons or forks. Materials required for the project are plywood, brass rod stock, screws, threaded inserts, walnut hardboard, and more. Tools needed include a lathe, a paintbrush, router bits, and drill presses.
You can also see: DIY Toy Box Ideas For Kids
The Minty Kalimba
This Kalimba is made from Altoids tin, steel bar, brass tubes, and a broken rake. It's super easy to make and will only cost about $12 for the parts. If you want to make yours more portable, replace the screws with bolts that can be tightened down in their holes. This is the Minty Kalimba, a portable and cool kalimba made from Altoids tin, steel rods, brass tubes, and other small items. The best part is that you can make one in less than an hour with these simple materials!
DIY Krazy Kalimba
With this Krazy kalimba DIY, you can learn how to make a simple and fun instrument using woodworking tools and materials. It's not just all fun and games, though - it also has educational value as it gives an in-depth look into sound production and the different types of instruments today. When you finish making your instrument, you can have hours of fun jamming with other people or even having an intimate moment alone – hey, don't look down on it just because it's considered a kid's toy; adults are also enjoying this activity.
DIY Recycled Kalimba
This small, portable, and easy-to-make Kalimba is the perfect DIY project to do during your spare time. The materials are easy to find around your home; all you need is a cigar box, some pieces of wood, skewers, elastic bands, and a wooden paint stick. This DIY Recycled Kalimba will be fun to pass the time with anyone, especially kids! The best thing about this instrument is that you can be creative and make it as attractive as you like!
How To Make A Thumb Piano
This simple DIY thumb piano is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process with high-quality video tutorials. The body is made from a plastic container, so it's durable and can stand up to lots of use. It's also fun for kids or young adults as an educational activity. To make a thumb piano, you only need a few materials like a wooden board, handle, nails, and rubber bands. First, measure the wood board to fit your thumb and cut it accordingly. Then hang it on nails in the back to stretch rubber bands on its key to tune it. Once you're done with this step, try playing your Kalimba now!
DIY Coconut Kalimba
If you've been looking for an easy project that you can build in your garage or workshop, this DIY Kalimba is the perfect build. For those unfamiliar with kalimbas, they are an African instrument similar to a dulcimer or xylophone. A series of wooden bars over a gourd resonator produces sound when struck by mallets or played using keys made from wood or ivory. The soundboard under each bar has a tuning pin that corresponds with notches cut in the bars and produces different pitches depending on where it is struck.
Homemade Kalimba
A DIY kalimba made by an expert! This is a large instrument that comes with a body and keys. You can skip the designs and create the body and keys built by yourself. The rich and powerful sound makes you feel like playing it for hours. This homemade Kalimba is a sizeable instrument that is the perfect upgrade for professional kalimba players. A seasoned woodworker built this beautiful Kalimba, and he explains how to make your own using simple tools and step-by-step instructions.
DIY Electric Kalimba
You can easily build your own electric Kalimba - without spending much money. Do it yourself and make your own electric Kalimba. This video contains steps to help you create a cheap yet effective Kalimba-like instrument. Electric Kalimbas are a great introduction to the world of Kalimba. The ability to plug into an amplifier and play them like an electric guitar is an exciting development. This build is simple and fun, and you can use it anywhere while creating new music on the go. This DIY electric kalimba is simple, and you can learn how to make one by following this video guide.
DIY Popsicle Stick Kalimba
This Kalimba is the simplest possible way to make a wooden kalimba. It uses very few materials but is still easy to build in only a few hours. This is one of the best kalimbas for beginners, perfect for learning about what makes a good instrument: tuning your notes and stretching strings across the teeth of a comb. This Kalimba, which you can make with three simple materials, is easy to set up and makes surprisingly good music. This is a great starter kalimba for any musician wanting to learn how to play in a new way.
DIY Trash Kalimba
Trash is everywhere, but it is always a way to make something beautiful. You can make a kalimba out of trash! Now you will learn how to recycle your trash by making a Kalimba with this DIY Trash Kalimba guide. The DIY Trash Kalimba is a handmade musical instrument from recycled waste materials. It's great fun to make and even more fun to play! This guide will show you some cool ones you can make out of things like tin cans, bottles, pallets, and old car parts.
Electric Cigar Box Kalimba
The cigar box electric kalimba is a great instrument for beginners and hobbyists. If you're learning to play the Kalimba, this project is a great way to start. But even if you're an experienced musician, you might find new things to try with this cigar box electric kalimba. It may be small, but it's big on tone and features a piezo pickup that connects directly to your computer or amplifier. The kit has step-by-step instructions and everything you need to build your Kalimba. You'll love how easy it is to create this fun project.
DIY Pocket Kalimba With Bobby Pins
You don't need a lot of space to make music. This DIY Kalimba is a tiny synth the size of a bobby pin. The material used for this project include screws, nuts, bobby pins, and a neodymium magnet. It is not only fun but also an inexpensive way to get started in music-making. This is a DIY pocket kalimba that you can easily carry. It is perfect for people who are always on the move and have to take their Kalimba with them everywhere they go. The kit includes all the supplies you need, and it's easy to follow instructions.
DIY 34 Key Double Layer Kalimba
You'll be the envy of your friends and family when you show up with your own homemade double-layer Kalimba. The sound will be strong and clear, giving a nice texture to any jam session, especially when you play with it on an acoustic instrument. This is an excellent DIY project. You can play it and have fun on your own time. This 34-key double-layer Kalimba is perfect for adding some music to your life. With this DIY video guide, you'll be able to make one yourself in just 10 steps.
How To Make An Electric Kalimba
An electric kalimba is an instrument with its own distinct sounds that you can play yourself at home with very little skill. It is easy to make, and there are many ways to get creative. You're going to have a lot of fun with this electric Kalimba. Even if you've never touched one before, you will be amazed by how easy the process is. And if you have played the traditional African Kalimba before, this will be a whole new experience.
DIY Kalimba
This is a DIY kalimba; it's easy to make and works great. You will need some cardboard, a large box, glue, and tape. Then you will cut out a body shape, round the corners off with a rasp or sander, draw on the keys, and assemble everything with glue. This easy DIY Kalimba is the perfect first instrument for young kids. You don't need much to make this sweet-sounding Kalimba: some cardboard, a large box, glue, tape, and a few other supplies. Let your kids explore acoustic music while they learn about tuning and harmony. This small instrument can be played with as many keys as you like!
DIY Chromatic Kalimba
This is a chromatic kalimba with a difference. The notes are arranged by intervals, not strings, as you would expect. But making and playing using the same basic principles that underlie standard kalimbas is easy. It's time to learn how to build a kalimba with 17 notes, just like the guitars and piano. The good news is that making one is pretty easy, and at the end of this article, you will have your own chromatic Kalimba made using common materials like wood and screws. Give it a try!
DIY Magnetic Kalimba
This magnetic Kalimba is one of the coolest DIYs you can make out of wood. It produces a sweet and harmonious sound to bring you joy. This instrument is an acoustic steel thumb piano, but it has more than five frets as opposed to four, as in the case of ordinary steel thumb pianos. This guide is for you if you have spare time and want to learn something new! The Compact Magnetic Kalimba is a great tool for musicians of all kinds. With a design that makes it easy to place on any desk, players can go from song to song without making a lot of noise. It's also great in a classroom environment!
How To Make A Thumb Piano
This article is for you if you have ever wanted to learn how to make a thumb piano. Thumb pianos come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. They can be constructed out of pieces of wood, clay, or any other soft material you might find around the house. This simple wooden thumb piano will get you started making these instruments which are a lot of fun to play. This is a simple DIY project to make your own thumb piano! You will need a cardboard box, scissors, glue, paper, and tape.
DIY Kalimba
This DIY kalimba drum is a great project for beginners, requiring just an empty beer drum, sharp tools, and the patience to apply some elbow grease. Once you're done making cuts in the drum's walls, you'll need to sand and polish them. The trick here is to remove as little wood as possible while keeping your final design intact. To keep sound waves controlled and focused, leaving only one small opening on either end of the instrument is important. This is a very simple but interesting design for making a Kalimba. To make your own Kalimba, you will need an empty five-liter beer barrel and some sharp device to make cuts into the walls of the drum.
Homemade Kalimba
If you love the sound and feel of a kalimba, then we have the DIY project for you. It's easy to build from recycled materials and can be completed in the afternoon. What a great way to get back to the basics and enjoy making a homemade musical instrument easily on a budget. This homemade kalimba instrument is fairly easy to make, and you can use any materials as long as they are sturdy and strong. Stick your heart into this project, and in no time will have a one-of-a-kind instrument for playing beautiful tunes!
DIY Popsicle Stick Kalimba
One of the best ways to start playing the Kalimba is to build your own. This DIY Kalimba uses popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun. A kalimba is an instrument with keys that you press to make sound, and this DIY version will teach you how to build one out of popsicle sticks. You only need a hot glue gun and some angled cuts with a craft knife. Your kids might also enjoy making this Kalimba and learning about simple machines. Add your own style and creativity with whatever crafty bits you have lying around the house, like feathers, buttons, beads, and more!