Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Thumb piano piano

Neatorama has this item pointing to a Flickr photoset showing some artsy kalimbas or "thumb pianos" made of such things as briefcases, lamp parts, cameras, and other items not normally associated with musical instruments. Lots of them have pickups (they are ekalimbas).

I'm thinking that the next time I see an old piano offered on the local freecycle group, I might want to pick it up and make a thumb piano out of it. Don't think that's been done yet.

4 comments:

Kelley said...

Awesome. I like the matchbook and the tea can.

The NYT just had a story on the changing shape of traditional instruments. They left out the innovation in the thumb piano arena, though.

RichM said...

Ah, thanks for mentioning that article, Kelley. Every time I pass one particular violin shop in this area I have this fantasy of becoming a master violin maker like the fellow who won a Macarthur Fellowship mentioned in that article. Sadly, I don't think that kind of success is imminent.

Kelley said...

Seriously, doesn't the luthier's life sound like the best? I could have such a happy, quiet life in rural Italy, varnishing cellos. Drinking wine. Eating olives... *sigh*

RichM said...

And in one's spare time reproducing the secrets of Stradivarius and Guarneri. That would be just the thing.