SQUEEGY K (finger friction tines)

If you try to set up a friction vibration in a kalimba tine by finger stroking along the tine, you won’t get much of a result. The lengthwise stroking direction is not the direction the tine needs to go in order to vibrate; instead, the stroking direction needs be perpendicular to the length of the tine. In the Squeegy K shown here, I gave the tines a bend so that the top portion of each is in line with the tine’s natural direction of vibration. With the benefit of rosin on the fingers, you can play with simple finger stroking. The location of the bend helps determine the frequency of a prominent overtone in the tine sound, so I was careful to position the bend in such a way that the overtone comes in at an octave above the fundamental.

The main photo shows two versions of Squeegy K; one is chromatic and the other diatonic.