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About Aharon Wheels Bolsta

Aharon Wheels Bolsta is a multi-instrumentalist, whose musical style and influences spans the continents from the West Coast of the USA, to the plains of India, the hills of Bali, the bazaars of Istanbul and Essouira, the coasts of Portugal and Brazil, the pubs of Ireland and Spain and Timbuktu, and the sands and rivers of West Africa and beyond. 

Aharon Wheels Bolsta has played as a regular member with at least twenty music ensembles and solo artist projects since 1997. He has also recorded with over thirty projects.

Learn More About Aharon Here

Listen To This…

Dual Kalimbas in three parts…

I recorded this Kalimba morsel as part of an effort to apply to graduate school, 2013. This is the kalimba solo, and in other links one can hear my final recording with the addition of calabash, bansuri, jaw harps, and talking drum. I never did choose to go back to school for that degree!

Visit My Kalimba Page

Instruments I Play & Teach

Hand Pan (Hang or Saraz)

Is it a flying saucer? The lid of a trash can? A car’s hubcap? Or the sweetest instrument you’ll ever hear?

Also known as panArt Hang, Saraz, Bell, Halo, Rav vast, and then their cousins the Tank drum, Hapi drum and others …Learn how to play your (or someone else’s) handpan with greater skill and musical breadth.

View My Hand Pan Page

Jaw Harp

The jaw harp, an ubiquitous yet rare instrument, also known as the dan moi, moorsing and the banisher of thought. Small yet powerful.

Jaw harps are also known as mouth harps. A long time ago — and some people still use this term– they were called Jew’s harp in English, for unknown reason (many theories exist but they are not an instument common in any Jewish genre of music). I will add some links to scholarly articles on the subject. In England and Ireland, they are sometimes called trumps or trump harps, but for obvious reasons, this term is to be avoided… at least til we’re out of this mess in the USA! 

Please follow the links to learn more about these wonderful instruments.

 

View My Jaw Harp Page

North Indian Tabla

I was fortunate to study tabla and North Indian classical music for many years from Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri as well as studying and accompanying classes for Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Along with traditional and jazz/folk tabla I also teach Konakul, the drum language from south India, and the drums and rhythmic languages of the Middle-East ranging form Turkey to Egypt to Morocco and the calabash rhythms of Mali, West Africa.

View My Tabla Page

Kalimba

Originally from Central and West Africa, the kalimba or sanza is quite different from the Zimbabwean mbira.

Visit My Kalimba Page

Handpan Awesomeness

Excerpt from teaching  a lesson in 2016 using Konakul to play handpan (Hang, Bell, Saraz, Halo)

https://youtu.be/RXwaGuqi0ZA Visit My Handpan
Performance Page Visit My Handpan
Teaching and Coaching Page

Listen To This…

Percussion Trio-Tabla, Bendir, Riqq in Varanasi

I recorded this original percussion trio composition in 2007 in Varanasi with Liron Peled and friends

Visit My Tabla Page

Three Ways To Learn From Me

Private Lessons

I teach beginning to advanced students on several instruments. Please write to me about what you would like to learn. I have been teaching online private and group classes for several years so if online is preferred or necessary due to geography it is no problem. Please see some reviews on my teaching pages.

For example, learn how to play your (or someone else’s) handpan with greater skill and musical breadth… or…

Keep an eye out for our launch of learning memberships and patreon/fan/colleague clubs.

Learn More About Private Lessons

Online Courses

Besides what I have out there for free on youtube, I have been creating some  teaching videos that are available with a membership online for handpan, kalimba, body percussion, and working on more. 

Please, keep an eye out for our launch of learning memberships and patreon/fan/colleague clubs. Plans will include basic level: general access to instructional video 4-part series’ for each instrument and level around $10/month or $15/month for all instruments; higher levels around $25 /month that include basic + one live group lesson per month for one instrument or  $5-15 per additional instrument; and max membership that inlcudes all of the above plus one private lesson per month at around $100/month.

Learn More About Online Courses

My Free Stuff

YouTube, SoundCloud

Some popular free samples of my teaching