Today Sekuru finished the matepe.
After all keys were in place and tuned, Sekuru took them out one by one to file in the “scars” – decorative grooves on the upper side which also helps to keep the keys in place below the bar. He polished each key with the file and cuts off the top bit before putting it back.
With the mbira being basically finished, Sekuru started decorating it in his favourite styles.
After finishing the decoration, he used the fire to burn the loose bits within the bell resonator.
Finally Sekuru added a piece of tin with bottletop buzzers.
Now the only thing left to do is to “break in” the matepe by intense playing, and tuning it up once in a while. Sekuru says its sound and (sometimes very dominant and off-scale) overtones are still going to change a lot, merely by playing.
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