by John Bertles
 
 

In Africa, finger pianos are also known by the names sensei, m'bira, and kalimba among others. Here is how to make your own. You will need:

Bobby pins (large ones work best but you can use both large and small)

Pliers (to break the bobby pins)

Heavy duty staple gun and 3/8 inch heavy duty staples

Plywood (about 6 inches by 6 inches and at least 1/2 inch thick)

Hammer

Step 1:

Break three Bobby pins by putting the bent part in the jaws of the pliers and crushing them down. As you open them up again the metal will snap (Note: if you donÕt have pliers you can also break the pins by hammering the bent part flat with a hammer). If you broke three pins you should now have six pieces, each with a rubber tipped end and a rather sharper metal end.

Step 2:

THE LOW PIN. Staple a pin to the left side of your plywood. Use two staples positioned right at the sharp metal edge of the pin to leave the rubber tipped end free for playing. If the staples did not go all the way in, then hammer down the staples to hold the pin tightly. The rubber tipped side should be up in the air (to be able to vibrate). If it is not, then bend it up just a bit.

Step 3.

The rest of the pins. Start stapling in the rest of the pins. As you work your way from left to right, staple the pins further and further toward the rubber tips, so that the length of the vibrating pin is getting shorter and shorter. You probably shouldn't staple the pins any further than halfway down the length of the pin.

To play:

push down on the rubber tip then slide your finger back off the tip. As the pin bounces back to its original position it will vibrate and make a sound. Try putting the plywood on different things to make it louder (something called a resonator). The best things are big cardboard and styrofoam boxes, but try any thin rigid flat surface to see what works best!