You’ve bought your first thumb piano or kalimba and it’s arrived untuned—frustrating, but completely fixable. Rest assured, I'm going to show you how to tune a thumb piano kalimba so that you can start playing the music you love but first, I want you to know that even though you can adjust the notes by hand, using a tuning hammer makes this process much easier and even more precise. See the five steps below to tune your instrument.
1. Use our tuning tool
You will be able to find a instrument tuning app on your smartphone or alternatively you can use our free online instrument tuning tool.
Use our free Instrument Tuner.
2. Playing the tine
Play a tine close to your phone with the app open so it can detect the note. The app will show whether the note is too high (sharp) or too low (flat).
3. Adjust the tine
To adjust the tine, move the tine in or out and test it again until it matches the correct pitch. This process can feel fiddly at first, and small adjustments make a big difference, so it takes a bit of trial and error.
4. Repeat for each tine
Repeat the second step for every note tine, over time, you’ll start to recognise the correct tuning but getting everything perfectly in tune can be harder than it seems.
5. Protect the tuning
When your finished playing with your kalimba, make sure to put it back in its case as even a slight knock can mess with the tuning. You dont want to have to retune the instrument every time you play it.
Play Songs on Your Thumb Piano
The Thumb Piano Songbook features songs arranged specifically for the coconut thumb piano, using our intuitive visual notation system designed around its unique note layout. Follow the diagrams, find the notes and start playing familiar melodies.
Download The Thumb Piano Songbook →
