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