20 Best Kalimba Songs

Best Kalimba songs in 2023 are Believer, Hallelujah, Fly Me To The Moon, and many more. Kalimba is an instrument designed by the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

The kalimba, a developed Mbira version, is an African musical instrument. It consists of a wooden board with attached metal tines, played by holding the device with two hands and plucking notes with your thumbs.

Being a professional Kalimba player requires a lot of practice and dedication. You can’t play kalimba in one go. First, you’ve to train yourself and learn tuning and keynotes.

Playing this wonderful instrument is productive since it has a soothing and calm sound, which makes any rock or metal song a much smoother sound no one could ignore from listening.

Thankfully you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to learn the “Kalimba” musical instrument. Lots of Kalimba cover songs are famous on video and audio streaming platforms. Similalrly, there are many tutorial videos uploaded on YouTube by Kalimba experts. 

20 Best Kalimba Songs

Songs Original Singer
Can’t Help Falling In Love Elvis Presley
Kiss The Rain Yiruma
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Hillson United
Perfect Ed Sheeran
Believer Imagine Dragons
Sound Of Silence Simon And Garfunkel
Despacito Louis Fonsi Ft Daddy Yankee
See You Again Wiz Khalifa Ft. Charlie Puth
A Thousand Years Christina Perri
I See The Light Mandy Moore And Zachary Levi
Love Story Taylor Swift
My Heart Will Go on Celine Deon
Glimpse Of Us Joji
Hallelujah Leonard Cohen
I’m Yours Jason Mraz
Nothing Else Matters Metallica
River Flows In You Yiruma
Wake Me Up When September Ends Green Day
Memories Maroon 5
Sweet Child O’ Mine Guns And Roses

20. Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns And Roses) By Emmanuel Abellera

Multi-instrumentalist Emmanuel Abellera uploaded a cover of Sweet Child O Mine on his YouTube channel two years ago, playing a kalimba instrument. The video has 26k views as of January 2023.

Pop rock band Guns and Roses’ released a single Sweet Child O’ Mine on July 21, 1987. It is a single from a debut studio album, Appetite For Destruction, which is positioned on the US Billboard 200 charts.

The viral song Despacito is covered on electric guitar. However, the mbira music sounds much better with every instrument, whether the ukulele or orchestral guitar.

19. Memories By Maroon 5

YouTuber Kalimba Tree tried some new pitches and tuning over the hit song Memories in March 2020 by using the ancient creation musical instrument mbira.

The video is captured on the beautiful Gold Coast in Hong Kong. People loved the new cover kalimba music track of the single and positively responded to the creator. One user wrote that this sounds like a lullaby. The clip has been played by three million viewers from all over the world, including Indonesia, the US, the UK, and many more.

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Memories is the lead single of the band’s seventh album, Jordi, released in 2021 by 222 and Interscope Records Label. The song Memories is the vibrant and forever netizens’ favorite. However, the music might sound different and unique using the kalimba instead of the guitar. 

18. Wake Me Up When September Ends By Green Day

A sad September song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” gave a new life to the music after creator Eva Auner uploaded the kalimba cover song in 2020 on her YouTube channel.

Listening to the mbira cover song will make a day for every listener since the music gives a positive vibe.

Green Day is a rock band better known for their hits “21 Guns,” “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,” “Basket Case,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “American Idiot,” “Holiday,” and “When I Come Around.” 

The band has collaborated with artists like U2, Ringo Starr, and Miranda Lambert, accumulating billions of global streams, and was being inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame.

17. River Flows In You By Yiruma

Yiruma is a pianist and composer known for his melody piano music, “River Flows In You.”

South Korean musical artist Yiruma plays piano and composes music. 

Over the past years, many creators have released their remake versions of the music by playing the ukulele or other instruments like the kalimba.

YouTuber Silvita Kalimba and Vicente Guitar uploaded a cover of Yiruma’s music using a beautiful old instrument on September 22, 2019.

Four million users have viewed the video as of January 2023. 

16. Nothing Else Matters By Metallica

Anyone who has missed listening to the kalimba cover version of the metal rock band, Nothing Else Matters have missed out on something. It is a song by the metal rock band Metallica.

The single was released on April 20, 1992, and eventually reached no. 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Also, it was under the top ten list on the UK Singles Chart, becoming No. 1 in Denmark, and reached in top 10 in many other European charts. 

The Heavy metal rock band has been the third best-selling music artist of all time since Nielsen SoundScan. The band has sold over 58 million albums in the US as of January 2023.

The Kalimba expert beautifully plays the rhythm and tune of the cover rock version on his channel. Here is a link. It will undoubtedly calm the user’s soul and mind.

15. I’m Yours By Jason Mraz

Jason Marz’s third studio album single, “I’m Yours,” is the most viewed and most streamed song for nine weeks on the US Billboard charts. 

Kalimba Tree YouTuber did justice to the masterpiece song after sharing a cover video with Kalimba. The beat perfectly suits the music and gives an excellent experience to the listeners.

The cover song was uploaded five years ago from now and has been streamed 2.1 million times as of January 2023. 

People are making a cover song of the single every after ten years is fantastic. However, some singles are evergreen even after a decade, and I’m Yours is one of them.

14. Hallelujah By Leonard Cohen

Pearl Patricio is a YouTuber who mostly shares covers of famous artists, including Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, using the instrument kalimba.

Listening to Kalimba’s cover music early in the morning will calm your soul. The tune of the metal tines provides vibration in every beat is incredible.

On April 14, 2020, Patricio shared a short clip with many notations of the hit song Hallelujah, which has been played by 380k viewers so far. His video has helped the freshers who have just started to play the device.

Over the past ten years, people have developed many modernized versions of Mbira with new designs and better electronic devices.

13. Glimpse Of Us By Joji

Seven months ago, My Spring Lullaby YouTuber shared a cover video of the song Glimpse of US with tabs recorded by George Kusunoki Miller, aka Joji, on his main YT channel.

Japanese singer and songwriter Joji released a single, Glimpse Of Us, from the third studio album Smithereens on November 4, 2022.

Viewers loved the kalimba version rather than the original. It sounds like a lullaby, and you might be at peace after hearing the latest version. Closing your eyes and hearing the music while wearing headphones is a blessing. Try it once.

More than one million users have watched the video and want the music on Spotify.

12. My Heart Will Go on By Celine Deon

April Yang released a kalimba cover of the world’s most streamed song and the titanic theme song “My Heart Will Go On” in September 2019.

Over nine million users have watched this fantastic cover song. Can you believe it? The shot was taken in the sea area, and the background and the rhythm perfectly suit the music.

Another record-breaking son, My Heart Will Go On, was recorded on November 14, 1997, by one of the best-selling Canadian artists, Celine Deon, who is no stranger to any.

The evergreen love song by Celine is a signature song composed by James Horner. From 1998 to 2002, the song received multiple accolades, including four grammy awards, billboard music awards, academy awards, and many more.

Enjoy listening to the video below.

11. Love Story By Taylor Swift

Sandrah Araja is a famous kimi kalimba player from Philippines. 

On May 4, 2020, Araja uploaded a kalimba cover video of Taylor Swift’s Love Story single, which amassed massive million user views.

On her primary YouTube channel, Sandrah has released multiple covers by renowned artists like Miley Cyrus’s Flowers, Ghost’s Mary On a Cross, Calum Scott’s You Are The Reason, and so on.

The lead single Love Story is from her 2008 Fearless album. The country pop singer Taylor Swift won the Song of the Year award at the Country Awards in 2009 and Pop Awards in 2010.

10. I See The Light By Mandy Moore And Zachary Levi

The tangled movie song, I See The Light, is sung by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Wikiwiki, a YouTuber, uploaded a new kalimba version of the song on October 4, 2019. 

The clip has had over one million views since 2019, and people have critically acclaimed her talent in her videos.

Internet celebrity Wikiwiki has 176k subscribers as of 2023. The creator uploads content playing instruments like Tongue drum, Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele, Cajon, including Kalimba. 

South Korean artist Wikiwiki has 42 million views in overall videos.

9. A Thousand Years By Christina Perri

South Korean native Sandrah Araja recorded a kalimba cover video of Christiana Perri’s song A Thousand Years two years ago.

The clip has amassed over 1.5 million views as of 2023.

Speaking about the artist, Christiana recorded and released a pop genre musical video called A Thousand Years in 2011, written by David Hodges and Perri, for the film titled Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

On October 27, 2011, the original music video was released, and it has 2.2 billion views as of February 2011. 

8. See You Again By Wiz Khalifa Ft. Charlie Puth

See You Again is a hit single by Wiz Khalifa, featuring artist Charlie Puth, which was recorded in 2014 and released in January 2015.

The hip-hop genre song hit the US billboard chart singles for two consecutive weeks and 12 non-consecutive weeks, ranking on the US Billboard Hot Top 100 list.

Silvita Kalimba And Vicente Guitar, a YouTuber and a multi-instrumentalist, shared a kalimba version of Khalifa’s hit album Furious 7  on her channel. The cover undoubtedly makes listeners emotional in no time. No music could ever compete with the beautiful version of kalimba to date.

7. Despacito By Louis Fonsi Ft Daddy Yankee

The summer hit viral song Despacito by Louis Fonsi ft Daddy Yankee became the most streamed song on video-sharing platforms like YouTube and other audio-streaming apps like Spotify, Deezer, and many more.

The song’s official music video has a whopping 8 billion views as of 2023. Kalimba Tree uploaded a complicated kalimba version of the song four years ago, and the video was well-liked by seven million viewers in 2023. It is soothing and beautifully tuned by the creator.

Without background music, only kalimba will make a new life to the song.

The cute musical instrument kalimba has become the people’s interest to play in leisure time, though many new diverse electrical guitars have replaced the magical instrument.

6. Sound Of Silence By Simon And Garfunkel

The ironic song “Sound of Silence” was released by the two American duo friends and artists Simon and Garfunkel in 1964.

The Sound of Silence was written after John Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 22, 1963. He was 46. However, this song had many different cover versions of Disturbed, The Dickies, Nevermore, and The Smashing Pumpkins. This song has 156th place in the Greatest Songs of All Time. 

Nonetheless, the Youtube channel Kalimba Cover Music released a kalimba version of the legendary song on May 20, 2021. The video has 20k views within a year.

5. Believer By Imagine Dragons

The American pop-rock band, Imagine Dragons, released the masterpiece song ‘Believer’ on February 1, 2017.

Many other artists and creators, such as One Voice Children Choir, J Fla, Chase Holfelder, Kurt Hugo Schneider, and Will Champlin, remade the cover song that gained massive views and positive feedback from the fans.

Among many cover songs, Yoon Soup’s kalimba version is the one. The cover song while playing kalimba, which is mindblowing. The video was shared three years, and it has already accumulated 5.5 million views since his hard work while playing kalimba has paid off.

4. Perfect By Ed Sheeran

Perfect is the divine song by Ed Sheeran, which has stolen a million hearts with its lyrics. The best part is when the kalimba version came out online three years ago by AprilYang.

April Yang is a pro kalimbist who shared a new cover version of the song on her self-titled channel. More than six million people watched the video and appreciated the music’s tuning. 

If you have missed out on listening to the smooth kalimba version of the song for any reason, try hearing it now.

3. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail By Hillson United

Karina Javier shared the most beautiful kalimba version of the song Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillson United on September 25, 2019.

Nine million users have played the video as of 2023. The content makers have released many cover songs since 2013, but none could beat the magical kalimba music.

The original album Zion was released in 2013, and Oceans is one of the singles of the hit album.

Guess what? The spiritual song will give goosebumps to the viewers while listening for sure.

2. Kiss The Rain By Yiruma

Kiss The Rain is a song by musician Yiruma. It was such a beautiful song you could hear by sitting in front of the garden, feeling the music.

The kalimba version is the best music to play to soothe your soul and disturbed mind, as we all know that music is a healing process for the person when you go deep into the song.

April Yang shared the new version of the song on March 29, 2018. It has 11 million views and a positive response from viewers.

1. Can’t Help Falling In Love By Elvis Presley

Content creator AcousticTrench uploaded a cover video of the song Can’t Help Falling In Love, recorded and released by the American singer and songwriter Elvis Presley in November 1961.

Five years ago, the kalimba version of the song was shared on a video-sharing platform, and as of 2023, it has over 37 million views. The little musical box-like instrument, Mbira or kalimba, looks cute, but it is only some people’s tea.

The phenomenal artist left his legacy in the musical genre as a king of rock and roll. 

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