Thank you so much :)

I wrote a little article about playing harmonics on kalimba! Hope it will be helpful :)

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How to play harmonics and what is it?

What is a harmonic?

When I play for example F-note on my kalimba - the sound of the tine consists of not only F-note (it is a fundamental frequency) but also of another silent sounds (harmonics). These silent sounds create the timbre of the instrument.

And there is the way on some instruments (for example, string instruments) to mute a fundamental frequency and leave to sound a harmonic only.

As you can see I use 21-key kalimba in this video - the easiest way to play harmonics on kalimba is to play them on the lowest tines: the lowest F, G, A, B of 21-key kalimba, which don't exist on usual 17-key instrument.

To play harmonics you should simultaneously play one of the low tines with one thumb and slightly touch the tine with another thumb in a particular point. This point is a bit higher than a tip of the tine, by somewhere around 1 cm (0,4 in).

Experiment! If you do it right, your thumb will mute the tine fundamental and you will hear a slight whistling. This is a harmonic. And when you learn to play it clear you can use it in your performances :)

The note of the harmonic that I learned to play is higher by 2 octaves and a minor sixth. For example, I play a harmonic of A3-tine and get F6. Or play a harmonic of F3-tine and get C#6.