How to tune a kalimba with a tuning hammer

To tune a kalimba, you change the length of the part of each tine that can vibrate. Make the free part shorter and the note goes higher, make it longer and the note goes lower. You do that by tapping the tine gently with a small tuning hammer while you check the note with a tuner app.

Every kalimba we sell leaves the warehouse tuned to C major and comes with a tuning hammer. Still, tines can shift a little in transport or after months of playing, so it is worth knowing how to do this yourself. It takes about ten minutes.

• Your kalimba
• A tuning hammer (a small metal hammer, often with a soft side)
• A chromatic tuner app on your phone, or a clip-on tuner
• A quiet room

Any free chromatic tuner app works. Set the reference to A4 = 440 Hz, which is the usual standard and the default in most apps.

Each tine rests on a bridge and is clamped by a metal bar just behind it. Only the part between the bridge and the tip, the end you pluck, can vibrate.

• Free part shorter = higher note. Tap the tip end of the tine, the end you play, towards the bridge. The tine slides further under the bar, less of it sticks out, and the pitch goes up.
• Free part longer = lower note. Tap the other end of the tine, the short piece sticking out behind the bar, towards you. More of the tine sticks out over the bridge, and the pitch goes down.

Remember it like this: short and high, long and low. That is why the longest tine in the middle is the lowest note.

The movements are tiny. Often a fraction of a millimetre is enough to go from slightly flat to in tune. Tap gently. Hitting hard can push the tine too far, or bend it sideways.

On a 17-key kalimba in standard C major tuning, the notes from left to right (as you hold it) are usually:

D6, B5, G5, E5, C5, A4, F4, D4, C4, E4, G4, B4, D5, F5, A5, C6, E6

C4 is middle C, the long tine in the middle. The tuner app will show the note name and the octave number, so you can check each tine against this list. If your kalimba has numbers on the tines, plain 1 is C4, 1° is C5 and 1°° is C6.

1. Open your tuner app and hold the phone close to the kalimba, but not touching it.
2. Start with the middle tine (C4). Pluck it once firmly and let it ring. Watch the needle after the first moment of the attack, when the tone settles.
3. Read the result. If the needle is to the right of centre (sharp), the note is too high: the free part must get longer. If it is left of centre (flat), the note is too low: the free part must get shorter.
4. Tap. To go higher, tap the playing end of the tine lightly towards the bridge. To go lower, tap the back end lightly towards you.
5. Pluck and check again. Repeat until the needle sits in the middle. Within a few cents (hundredths of a semitone) is fine.
6. Move outwards, tine by tine, alternating left and right, until all 17 are done.
7. Check the octaves. Play 1 and 1° together, then 1° and 1°°. They should blend without a slow wobble in the sound.

• Damp the other tines. Neighbouring tines ring along and can confuse the tuner. Rest a finger lightly on the tines you are not tuning.
• Look at the octave too. The app can show the right letter in the wrong octave if it picks up an overtone. Use the list above.
• Short tines are touchy. The high notes on the outside change pitch fast. Use the smallest taps there.
• Keep the tines straight. Each tine should point straight towards you with even gaps. If one sits crooked, nudge it back sideways before tuning.
• Retune once in a while. Temperature changes and transport can shift tines slightly. A quick check every few weeks is enough for most players.

C major is the standard, but a kalimba is not locked into it. A few common changes:

• G major: retune every F to F sharp. That is a small step up, so you make those tines slightly shorter. Your kalimba then plays in G major.
• F major: retune every B to B flat, a small step down, so those tines get slightly longer.
• A minor: no retuning needed. A minor uses the same notes as C major. Songs in A minor simply centre on 6 instead of 1.

Most kalimbas handle a change of one semitone well. Larger changes can need more tine length than the clamp allows, so stick to small steps. Write down what you changed, so you can go back to C major later. Tabs from the song library assume standard C major tuning.

Lost or bent your hammer? A spare tuning hammer is a cheap thing to keep in your case. Once your kalimba is in tune, check it by playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: with the tines in tune, the opening 1 1 5 5 sounds clean and open.