Float down the Cumberland River with Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer in this delightful acoustical meditation set on the banks of the river with the sounds of flowing water and song birds greeting the dawn, all while the good doctor lays out a hypnotic trance rhythm on the Hugh Tracey alto kalimba. Copyright Free - be sure to download if you like. Enjoy!

Image courtesy Diggers2004 used under Creative COmmons license https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cumberland_River_1km_from_mouth.JPG

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer Plays Acoustic Thumb Piano

Cumberland - Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer Plays Acoustic Thumb Piano

The legendary Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer plays an 8-note Hugh Tracey "shield" kalimba thumb piano as a chorus of birds sings along behind in this magnificent track of ambient acoustic ecstacy! Copyright free -- be sure to download while it's still available. Dr. Pianeer is a favorite on YouTube soundtracks everywhere!

Image is public domain. https://www.rawpixel.com/image/431441/vintage-bird-painting

Snap Chat - Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer Plays Acoustic Thumb Piano

"Soft San" is a wonderful, soothing, copyright-free soundscape featuring Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer performing on a Hokema Sansula next to a stream, accompanied by birds plus some traffic sounds. The Sansula is a thumb piano set into a frame drum that produces hypnotizing tones that are said to have healing properties. The Sansula is used often in music therapy. Dr. Pianeer is a favorite on YouTube soundtracks so be sure to download while this copyright-free track is still available. Enjoy!

Photo by Staunton Media Lab https://soundcloud.com/stauntonmedialab/ used with permission.

Soft San - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays The Sansula

Soft San - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Sansula with Water and Birds

"Convalescent" is a copyright-free, royalty free, delightful little piece of thumb piano music created by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer in homage to Ludwig von Beethoven. 

Thumbs was struck by the beauty of Beethoven's string quartet entitled "Holy Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity, in the Lydian Mode" which you can find at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYQrSokI6es

Thumbs tuned a vintage Hugh Tracey kalimba to the Lydian Mode and spent months playing it all around the Eastern United States hoping to find a good song. Eventually, he hit on this simple melody which is delightful, cheerful and dignified.

Please feel free to download "Convalescent" and use as you please, copyright free. Image of engraving of Beethoven from the Library of Congress, public domain, available from this link: https://picryl.com/media/ludwig-van-beethoven-1770-1827

Convalescent - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Vintage Thumb Piano

"Trance Dance" is a copyright-free, royalty-free excursion into the metasphere from Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer playing a Hugh Tracey kalimba thumb piano that Dr. Pianeer rebuilt into a hollow-body karimba with rattles and Sand Bar.

Dance to the interlaced rhythms of the minor key tuning and the "five sounds" of note, thumb, buzzers, rattle, and wa-wa from the sound holes on the bottom of the kalimba. Trance Dance delivers an extended rhythm experience designed for relaxation, meditation, and divine creation.

Enjoy the copyright free sounds of Dr. Cornelius Pianeer and use them to make your videos sing!

Image of home made karimba courtesy of Dr. Cornelius Pianeer. Used with permission.

Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Home Made Thumb Piano

Trance Dance

Trance Dance - Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer Plays Homemade Thumb Piano

Copyright-free, royalty-free acoustic ambient trance music from the legendary Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer. This gorgeous recording features the Moozica double-decker kalimba, which Dr. Pianeer tore apart and rebuilt using the LOTUS tuning for a karimba. The sound is mesmerizing, like a dozen tiny bells dancing. Get ready for a long, soothing attitude adjustment as you listen to the LOTUS unfold.

Produced in 2023 by the Staunton Media Lab. Copyright-free, royalty-free, feel free to download and repurpose as long as credit is given to Dr. Cornelius Pianeer. Image courtesy Staunton Media Lab -- all rights reserved.

DCP Unreleased

Lotus - Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer Plays the Moozica Thumb Piano

Almost ten minutes of pure audio bliss. This is a field recording from deep within the Taxter Ridge Park Preserve in Westchester County, New York http://www.nynjtc.org/park/taxter-ridge-park-preserve. The recording features water flowing through a stoney brook, the sounds of wind, and clear bird calls. Very peaceful. Copyright Free from the Staunton Media Lab in Staunton, Virginia http://orobora.com/introducing-the-staunton-media-lab/.

Flowing stream plus birds from Taxter Ridge natural area

Ambient audio track of a Sansula thumb piano being played in the Taxter Ridge Park Preserve wilderness. Recording features the gentle sounds of water running in a stream, birds calling in the distance, and the soft soothing tones of the Sansula. Performance is by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer. Copyright free -- great for slideshows!

Ambient Audioscape with Sansula Thumb Piano, Water and Birds

This is a Hugh Tracey Karimba being played by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer in a memorial to Daniel Ray Deter (1948-2015). This is a wonderful, joyful little jig that loops well. A "karimba" is a kalimba (or thumb piano) with rattles attached to the keys. With practice, both the rhythm of the rattles and the rhythm of the keys can be controlled and interlaced. The image is courtesy KalimbaMagic https://www.kalimbamagic.com/info/how-to-play/36-how-to-play-the-african-karimba. The audio is copyright-free -- use as you please.

Ditty4Daniel - Karimba Thumb Piano by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer

This copyright-free track begins with the calls of birds on the Appalchian Trail near Roanoke, Virginia. After the birds set the tone, the thumb piano comes in with a bouncy tune and intriguing rattles. The rattles are what make like Kalimba a "Karimba" -- a thumb piano with built-in rattles. Performance is by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer. Image courtesy Steve O'Keefe.

Ambient Appalachian Trail with Birds and Karimba Thumb Piano

This is a short taste of a Hugh Tracey Treble Celeste Thumb Piano (Kalimba) with a built-in microphone/pickup. The instrument is recorded directly from the control panel for superior sound. Performance by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer in the Staunton Media Lab studios in Staunton, Virginia. Image courtesy https://www.kalimbamagic.com

E-Thumb Piano

Electric Thumb Piano (Kalimba) by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer

This is a recording of legendary pianologist, Dr. Thumbs Pianeer, performing on a Hugh Tracey Karimba, a style of thumb piano with little metal rattles on some of the keys. Enjoy the interlaced ryhthms of rattle and tone in this delightful short piece. This was recorded in the "Five Points" neighborhood of East Nashville, Tennessee, which is where the piece gets its name. Copyright free -- use as you please. Photo courtesy of https://www.kalimbamagic.com

Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays the Karimba

Five Points - Karimba Thumb Piano by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer

This is a short version of "Calling All Cicadas" by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer. This ambient recording was made at the Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Enjoy!

Cicada Song

Cicada Song - Ambient Thumb Piano by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer

The legendary Thumbs Pianeer was captured in his natural habitat at the Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the edge of the Huron River. Dr. Pianeer plays a Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba from KalimbaMagic -- "best place to get yer thumb pianeers." There are no rattles and the sound is soft and subtle. Turn it up! The tuning was put on by Dr. Pianeer. The master of the thumb piano is accompanied from the start by a cicada, then a dog, people in canoes going by. At 9:00 he's in a duet with a woodpecker! The bird gets the last word! Enjoy! Copyright Free!

Nichols Arboretum

Nichols Arboretum - Ambient Thumb Piano, Cicada and Birds by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer

This is one of the best examples of what can be done with a Karimba we have ever heard. Dr. Pianeer plays a two-tiered kalimba with rattles on some of the keys. Listen to the rumble of the thumbs, the snapping of the keys, the shuffle of the rattles, and the dancing overtones that resonate with life. All recorded in a single take, no overdubs. Copyright free. Photo courtesy Steve O'Keefe, Staunton Media Lab.

The Amazing Karimba - Thumb Piano by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer

This delightful ditty begins with Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer test-driving a new Erin treble kalimba. About 30 seconds in, a train passes in the distance, blowing its horn. Then, about 3 minutes in, a wren is attracted to the tune and joins in. Dr. Pianeer and the Wren then duet for the remainder of the tune. A wonderful ambient recording! Image used with permission from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tawny-breasted_Wren-Babbler,_Cherapunjee,_Meghalaya.jpg

Wren I Call Your Name - Thumb Piano by Dr. Cornelius Pianeer

"Rainbird" is an exquisite piece of ambient music recorded during a rainstorm in the woods in Traverse City, Michigan -- home of the elusive Hawk-Owl. In this long, soothing performance, Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer plays a vintage treble Hugh Tracey Kalimba and the birds just go nuts. Gentle showers provide a soft blanket of rhythm that Thumbs rides to a satisfyting cicada conclusion. "Rainbird" is Copyright Free -- use as you please. Image by  jan_nijman used with permission at https://pixabay.com/en/water-rain-drop-of-water-raindrops-975974/

unreleased

Rainbird

Rainbird - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Kalimba with Ambient Birds and Rain

Cornelia Fort is a wonderful, ambient, on-location recording at Shelby Bottoms Greenway in Nashville, Tennessee. Recorded live on the Cornelia Fort Trail. You will hear the sounds of airplanes. Cornelia Fort was an aviation pioneer and the nearby small airport is named after her. Along with airplanes, you will hear the sounds of the pond, the crow, the heron, the sweet wren. All of these sounds lay a background on which Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer showcases the fanning technique on a slow blues on a vintage kalimba thumb piano. Copyright Free. Download it while you have the chance!

Cornelia Fort

Cornelia Fort - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Vintage Thumb Piano

"Almost Nothing" is an exquisite extended track of copyright-free ambient thumb piano trance music performed by Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer on a vintage Hugh Tracey alto kalimba in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.

"Almost Nothing" opens with birds singing and some passing traffic before settling into a sweet, minor key melody that devolves to almost nothing before coming back to life then fading again ever so slowly. 

"Almost Nothing" is a wonderful track for meditation or putting the little ones to sleep at night. After eight minutes, they will be out like a light! Copyright-free; download while you have the opportunity.

(Image by Markholdaway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Markholdaway de Wikipedia en inglés https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

Almost Nothing

Almost Nothing - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer plays Vintage Thumb Piano

"Bird Song" is an extraordinary collaboration between Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer playing a vintage Hugh Tracey treble kalimba, and a whole forest full of birds joining in! Recorded live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, this folksy little ditty is copyright free so download it while you have the chance and share it with the people and animals you love! Image of white-crowned sparrow courtesy U.S. National Park Service by Nathan Kostegian https://www.nps.gov/articles/denali-songbird-monitoring.htm

Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Vintage Thumb Piano

Bird Song - Dr. Cornelius Pianeer Plays Vintage Thumb Piano

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer was born in the state of Michigan in the 1950s, the fifth child of nine, "like the center note of a kalimba with two older brothers and two older sisters and two younger brothers and two younger sisters and I learned how to play them all."

Dr. Pianeer holds a Doctorate of Divinity from the Universal Life Church of Seattle, Washington, for which he paid $89 extra to get a fancy diploma, clergy cards, and a binder with all the language for all the typical ceremonies of the world's major religions. 

Dr. Pianeer is prepared to recite ceremonies for birth, transition to adulthood, marriage, sickness, death and despair in five faiths and counting.

In 2010, Dr. Pianeer moved with his wife, Mae, to the mountains of Virginia where they live in the Shenandoah Valley making music, making art, making poetry, and sharing the love with the people of Appalachia.

Dr. Cornelius "Thumbs" Pianeer

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