This is a 36-page booklet, 6″ x 9″ so it fits in the Olive-9 box. The book has a QR code to take you to the support web page that contains the sound recordings. You also get permission to download the PDF eBook, with live links to the sound recordings.


In the standard pentatonic tuning, the Olive is a great instrument for fiery improvising and jamming. I invite you to jam along with me as I show you the ropes on this kalimba – what it was built to do, and what it does easily. I use a variety of instructional modalities: geometrical patterns, tablature, image and word-based instruction, and numbers-based instruction. But the most important way I reach out to help you play the Olive-9 Kalimba is through the sound recordings I have made of each song, often with backing tracks for you to solo over.

The freedom of the pentatonic tuning can also lead the player to meditative playing – sparse floating melodies that linger in the air and invite us inward with a touch of serenity.

And the simplicity of this 9-note kalimba design also makes it an interesting choice for beginning kalimba players.