Kalimba

This is a free online kalimba you can play in your browser with a mouse, a touch screen or your computer keyboard. It is a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major, from C4 up to E6, with tines labeled in kalimba number notation, six play-along tabs and a recorder.

How the 17 tines are laid out

A kalimba is a thumb piano: metal tines fixed over a wooden box, plucked with the thumbs. This one follows the common 17-key layout. The longest tine in the middle is the lowest note, C4. The scale then climbs outward, alternating sides: D4 is just left of center, E4 just right, F4 next on the left, G4 next on the right, and so on. The shortest tines at the edges are the highest notes, D6 on the far left and E6 on the far right. Because each step up the scale swaps sides, your two thumbs share the work, and most pairs of neighboring tines are a third apart, which sounds sweet together.

How to play

• Mouse or touch: click or tap a tine to pluck it. On a touch screen, use both thumbs, or several fingers at once for a chord.
• Glissando: press and slide across the tines to pluck each one you pass.
• Computer keyboard: Z X C V B N M play 1 to 7 in the low octave (C4 to B4), A S D F G H J play the middle octave and Q W E play the three highest tines. The key letter is printed under each tine.
• Ring: Normal gives a natural ring that fades faster on the short high tines than on the long low ones. Long makes every note ring about twice as long, for slow, dreamy tunes. Plucking a tine that is still ringing restarts it, as a thumb landing on a real tine would.

Reading kalimba number notation

Kalimba tabs usually write notes as numbers instead of letters. Here 1 is C, 2 is D, 3 is E, 4 is F, 5 is G, 6 is A and 7 is B. A dot above a number moves it up one octave, and two dots move it up two. So plain 1 is the long middle tine, 1 with one dot is C5 and 1 with two dots is C6. Press Labels to switch every tine and every tab between numbers and letter names.

Play-along tabs

Open the tab menu and pick a song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Ode to Joy, Frere Jacques, Row, Row, Row Your Boat or the chorus of Jingle Bells. All six are public-domain melodies, and Listen plays each one for you first.

• Follow the tab: the whole tune is shown in number notation above the kalimba, split into short phrases. The current note is marked in gold, and the matching tine glows gold too.
• Take your time: the tab waits for you and only moves on when you pluck the right tine. A wrong tine counts as a wrong note.
• Check your result: at the end you see how many wrong notes you played and your fewest for that tab.

Record and play back

Press Record, play anything, then press Stop rec. Play back repeats it with the same rhythm, chords included. Your last recording is saved in your browser, along with your label and ring settings and your best result for each tab.

Tips

• Think in thumbs. Notes that go up the scale swap sides each time, so a rising tune bounces between your left and right thumb.
• Start with Mary Had a Little Lamb. It only uses the four tines in the middle.
• Try chords of three. Plucking three tines side by side, such as the center tine and the two to its right (1, 3 and 5), gives a C major chord.

FAQ

Is this online kalimba free?

Yes. It is free to play, with nothing to install and no account needed.

What key is this kalimba in?

C major, the most common tuning for 17-key kalimbas. It has no sharps or flats, so every tine fits any song written in C.

Can I play it on my phone?

Yes. All 17 tines fit across a phone screen, and touching them won’t scroll the page. If you hear nothing, check that silent mode is off.

Can I use the tabs with a real kalimba?

Yes. The tabs use the standard number notation for a 17-key kalimba in C, so you can read them off the screen while playing your own instrument.

Want more music to make in your browser? Try our Virtual Piano, or train your ear and memory with Simon, which plays a growing pattern of tones for you to repeat.