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pretty_name: Kalimba (Preview) |
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license: cc-by-nc-4.0 |
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size_categories: [n<1K] |
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tags: |
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- audio |
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- music |
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- dataset |
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- kalimba |
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- mbira |
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- thumb_piano |
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- world_music |
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- folk_instruments |
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- plucked_idiophone |
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- acoustic_instrument |
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- ethnomusicology |
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- sound_design |
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- ai_training_data |
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- sampling_96khz |
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- bitdepth_24bit |
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- mono |
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task_categories: [other] |
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language: [und] |
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thumbnail: thumbnail.png |
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description: "A high-fidelity world instrument dataset capturing the Kalimba (African thumb piano), recorded for AI training, sound research, and creative development as part of the Harmonic Frontier Audio Folk & World Instruments Series." |
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--- |
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# Harmonic Frontier Audio – Kalimba (Preview, v0.9) |
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**A high-fidelity world instrument dataset designed for AI training, music research, and creative sound development.** |
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**Kalimba (Preview)**, created by **Harmonic Frontier Audio**, provides a compact reference set demonstrating the quality, formatting, and metadata conventions used in the *World Resonance Gallery* in the Harmonic Frontier Audio catalogue. |
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--- |
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### 🔎 Summary |
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This dataset provides high-quality, rights-cleared recordings of the **Kalimba** — a lamellophone producing sound through the plucking of tuned metal tines mounted on a resonant body. |
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The recordings highlight the instrument’s clear attack transients, inharmonic overtone structure, and resonant decay characteristics, making them valuable for **AI music modeling**, **percussive timbre analysis**, **idiophonic synthesis**, and **cross-cultural sound design** research. |
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Developed by **Harmonic Frontier Audio**, this preview follows *The Proteus Standard™* for dataset provenance, transparency, and ethical AI use. |
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Learn more about the Proteus Standard → https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/proteus-standard |
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Full dataset details and licensing information are available at: https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/datasets/kalimba |
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It offers clean, consistent audio files capturing the Kalimba across single-note articulations, interval patterns, chordal gestures, and controlled plucking techniques. |
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If you find this dataset useful, please consider giving it a 🤍 on Hugging Face to help others discover it. |
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--- |
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## 🎶 About the Kalimba |
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The **Kalimba** is a lamellaphone from the Mbira family of instruments, originating in sub-Saharan Africa. |
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It consists of metal tines attached to a resonating wooden body, played by plucking the tines with the thumbs. |
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The sound is at once percussive and melodic — metallic transients followed by rich resonant decay. |
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Kalimbas are often tuned to diatonic or pentatonic scales, though alternate tunings exist across African regions. |
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This preview dataset was recorded on a **17-key C major Kalimba**, offering single-note, dyadic, and arpeggiated gestures across the full playable range. |
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The goal was to capture the instrument’s core articulations neutrally — not tied to any specific cultural or stylistic context — providing universal training material for AI and creative sound development. |
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--- |
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## 📂 Contents |
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**Audio Files (.wav)** |
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- Recorded at **96 kHz / 24-bit** WAV format |
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- Exported as **mono** |
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- Fade-ins and fade-outs of **3–5 ms** for transient consistency |
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- DC offset minimized |
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- No EQ, compression, or post-processing applied |
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- High-pass filtered at ~40 Hz to remove subsonic rumble |
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### Categories in this Preview |
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1. **Sustain** |
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- Single tines plucked and allowed to decay naturally |
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2. **Dyad** |
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- Two tines plucked simultaneously to form harmonic dyads |
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3. **Arpeggio** |
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- Sequential plucks outlining triadic shapes |
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4. **Chord** |
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- Three-note simultaneous strikes forming simple triads |
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5. **Rhythm** |
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- Repeated tine plucks at moderate tempo, emphasizing percussive character |
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--- |
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**Metadata (.csv)** |
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Includes structured fields for file name, category, content, note pitch, Kalimba tab number (where applicable), microphone, channel configuration, sample rate, bit depth, recording chain, and dataset version. |
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--- |
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## 🎤 Recording Notes |
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- Recorded in a treated studio environment using a **dual-mic setup** blended to mono: |
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- **Front Mic (transients):** Oktava MK-012 (small-diaphragm condenser), 8″ above the tines |
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- **Rear Mic (resonance):** RØDE NT1-A (large-diaphragm condenser), 6″ behind the sound holes |
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- **Recording chain:** Oktava MK-012 + RØDE NT1-A → Zoom F8n Pro |
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- Captured at **96 kHz / 32-bit float**, rendered as **96 kHz / 24-bit** mono WAV for release. |
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- Transient integrity preserved; minor ambient noise retained for natural realism. |
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--- |
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## 🌈 Spectrogram Preview |
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Below is a spectrogram showing the Kalimba’s characteristic harmonic overtones and resonant decay pattern: |
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--- |
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## 🎧 Demonstration Audio |
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This repository includes **three audio examples** for listening and comparison: |
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**1. Dataset in musical context (mixed & mastered)** |
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A brief musical excerpt demonstrating the Kalimba Preview dataset integrated into a musical arrangement, highlighting expressive timbre and real-world usability. |
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**Track:** *“Kalimba Example”* |
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**Producer:** Blake Pullen |
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**Source Audio:** Harmonic Frontier Audio – Kalimba (Preview) |
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<audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
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<source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview/resolve/main/Demos/Kalimba_Demo_Master.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"> |
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Your browser does not support the audio element. |
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</audio> |
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**2. Raw dataset recording** |
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An unprocessed audio excerpt taken directly from the dataset’s audio files, representing the actual licensed source material without musical context or processing. |
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<audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
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<source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview/resolve/main/Audio/HFA_Kalimba_Melody_ShortSnippet.wav" type="audio/wav"> |
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Your browser does not support the audio element. |
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</audio> |
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**3. Fully AI-generated reference (no dataset audio)** |
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A comparison track generated entirely by an AI music model without using any Harmonic Frontier Audio recordings, included solely to illustrate current generative limitations. |
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<audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
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<source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview/resolve/main/Demos/Kalimba_AI_Generated_Reference_no_dataset_audio.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"> |
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Your browser does not support the audio element. |
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</audio> |
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--- |
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## 📜 Demo & Licensing Note |
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The `Demos/` folder contains **demonstration material only**. |
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**Only the raw recordings in the dataset audio files constitute the licensed dataset.** |
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AI-generated reference tracks are **not part of the dataset** and are **not licensed for training or reuse**. |
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--- |
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## 🪶 Production Notes |
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- Instrumental accompaniment in the contextual demo was generated using **Suno (Pro plan)** under a commercial license. |
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- All dataset recordings were **performed, recorded, and produced by Blake Pullen** for Harmonic Frontier Audio. |
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## ⚡ Usage |
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This preview dataset is designed for: |
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- **Evaluation** of Harmonic Frontier Audio dataset structure and fidelity |
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- **Testing** AI and DSP systems that model or classify acoustic instruments |
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- **Creative sound design**, **instrument synthesis**, and **timbre modeling** research |
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👉 Note: This is **not a full dataset**. |
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The complete Harmonic Frontier Audio dataset for **Kalimba** will include: |
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- Full dynamic range and velocity layers |
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- Expanded tuning systems and gesture types |
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- Additional playing styles (rolls, damping, harmonics) |
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--- |
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## 💡 Full Dataset Availability |
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This is a **preview pack** of the *Kalimba Dataset*. |
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The complete dataset — with extended articulations and dynamic layers — will be available for **licensing**. |
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For licensing inquiries: |
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📩 info@harmonicfrontieraudio.com |
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--- |
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## 📥 How to Use This Dataset in Python |
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You can load the Parquet-converted version of this dataset directly with the `datasets` library: |
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```python |
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from datasets import load_dataset |
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dataset = load_dataset( |
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"Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview", |
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split="train" |
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) |
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print(dataset) |
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``` |
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> ⚙️ *Note: Parquet conversion and `load_dataset()` support will be available within 2–3 days of publication.* |
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--- |
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### 🔗 Explore More from Harmonic Frontier Audio |
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- [Scottish Smallpipes (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Bagpipes_Scottish_Smallpipes_in_A_Preview) |
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- [Highland Bagpipes (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Bagpipes_Scottish_Highland_Bagpipes_Preview) |
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- [Irish Tin Whistle in D (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Irish_Tin_Whistle_in_D_Preview) |
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- [Subharmonic Phonation / Vocal Fry (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Subharmonic_Phonation_Vocal_Fry_Preview) |
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- [Kalimba (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview) |
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- [Kazoo (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kazoo_Preview) |
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- [Overtone Singing (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview) |
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*(All datasets follow The Proteus Standard™ for ethical dataset provenance and licensing.)* |
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--- |
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## 📜 License |
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Released under **[CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)**. |
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- Free for non-commercial use, testing, and research. |
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- Commercial licensing available via Harmonic Frontier Audio. |
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- A formal rights declaration is included in this dataset bundle. |
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--- |
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## 📧 Contact |
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Harmonic Frontier Audio |
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📩 info@harmonicfrontieraudio.com |
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🌐 https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/ |
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--- |
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## 🔮 Future Roadmap |
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This preview release is part of the **Harmonic Frontier Audio – World Resonance Gallery**. |
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Upcoming planned datasets include: |
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- **Kalimba (Full Dataset)** |
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- **Didgeridoo** |
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- **Shakuhachi** |
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Over time, Harmonic Frontier Audio will expand the World Resonance Gallery alongside its Extended Vocal Techniques Series and Celtic Constellations Series — creating the first unified library of ethical, rights-cleared world and human sound datasets for AI training, synthesis, and sound design. |
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--- |
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## 🗒️ Release Notes |
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**Version 0.9 (Nov. 2025)** – Initial Preview Pack release for Kalimba. |
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See `CHANGELOG.md` for detailed version history. |
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--- |
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## Citation |
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If you use this dataset in your research, please cite: |
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Pullen, B. (2025). *Kalimba Dataset (Preview)* [Data set]. Harmonic Frontier Audio. Zenodo. |
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17588097 |
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ORCID: [https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4527-0178](https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4527-0178) |
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### BibTeX |
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```bibtex |
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@dataset{pullen_2025_kalimba_preview, |
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author = {Blake Pullen}, |
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title = {Kalimba Dataset (Preview)}, |
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year = {2025}, |
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publisher = {Harmonic Frontier Audio}, |
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version = {0.9}, |
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doi = {10.5281/zenodo.17588097}, |
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url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17588097} |
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} |
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``` |
