Wild! Pitch-Bending Thumb Piano

This is a wild reinvention of the classic thumb piano (kalimba). By turning a spool, the user can change the lengths of the reeds while they are vibrating. The design is such that almost any thin strip of metal can be inserted into the instrument (last half of video).

From Jamoflage on youtube:

“I love pitch bending instruments! I made this one for a guy who does movie soundtracks. It is the second one I have made. The playing is all spontaneous, imagine what you could do if you actually practiced. Great for weird sounds as well as sweet melodies. “

Thanks Jamoflage for that fascinating demonstration. There is something about that open-for-tinkering/sound-experimenting aspect of your pitch-bending thumb piano that really sparks my interest. Something about unexplored soundscapes…. or something. Keep up the oddstrumentation!

As a side note, kalimbas, mbiras, mechanical music boxes, and all other instruments that make sound via vibrating plates that are asymmetrically fixed are classified as lamellophones.