How to Tune a Kalimba

Many of you know me from playing the kalimba at my Offbeat Imports store in Savannah, Georgia, and many of you have purchased a Balinese kalimba from me. I pre-tune all the kalimbas I sell, usually to the pentatonic scale, but what if you want to try a different scale, or the instrument goes out of tune? Fortunately, the Balinese kalimbas are very easy to tune yourself. The only tool you need is a Phillips head screwdriver.

Loosen each screw until the tines (the metal keys on the kalimba) are just loose enough so you can nudge them in and out with the handle of the screwdriver. Slide a tine out to get a lower note, and in to get a higher note. You’ll need either to tune against another instrument that is already in tune (most electronic keyboards would work) or an acoustic guitar tuner.

Fine Tuning the First (Lowest) Note

I suggest starting at the lowest note, the one in the middle. I think it’s best to just fine tune the lowest note to whatever note it is already closest to. So, if your lowest note is somewhere in between an A and an Ab, I would just fine tune it to one of those notes, or maybe up to a B or down to a G note. If you try to force it up or down too many notes (to an E or F, for example) you’ll find the tine is either about to slip out of place completely (in the case of tuning down too far) or it will be so high it will not ring out as much.

So let’s say your first (the lowest) note turns out to be an A. If you’re working with a 7-note kalimba like the ones I usually sell, you’ll probably want to use a 5 or 6 note scale, so you can have at least one or two notes on top that are an octave above the lowest two notes. That’s why I often use the pentatonic (or 5-note) scale.

Tuning the Rest of the Notes

If you have decided on a scale, you just need to follow the same process of sliding the tines in an out to get all the rest of the notes. If you’re right-handed, I suggest you go middle, left, right, left, right, left, right up the scale. In the picture below, I have numbered the notes with 1 being the lowest and 7 being the highest in the scale so you can see what I mean. If you’re left-handed like me, do the opposite; middle, right, left, right, left, right, left. I tune the kalimbas this way because I think it’s the most natural way to play, going back and forth up the scale. When you’re done tuning, tighten the two screws back.

If you are not familiar with any scales, I have some instructions below which you can use to get a pentatonic, whole tone, or major scale. You just need a tuned keyboard or guitar to tune to.

Pentatonic (5 Note) Scale

Fine tune the lowest note per the instructions above. Either on a tuned guitar or keyboard, find the lowest note you just tuned the kalimba to and go up 2 notes and tune the second note of the kalimba to that. Then go up 3 more notes for the third, then 2 more for the fourth, 2 more for the fifth, 3 more for the sixth, and 2 more for the seventh. After you’re done, you’ll notice that no matter which note you start with in this scale, you always end up with the sixth note being an octave above the first, and the seventh note an octave above the second.

Whole Tone Scale

This scale creates a dreamlike mood. It’s actually a very easy tuning to remember because each note is two notes above the one before it. Fine tune the lowest note per the instructions above. Either on a tuned guitar or keyboard, find the lowest note you just tuned the kalimba to and go up 2 notes and tune the second note of the kalimba to that. Then keep tuning each subsequent note to 2 notes above the last one, all the way to the highest note. After you’re done, you’ll notice that no matter which note you start with in this scale, you always end up with the seventh note being an octave above the first.

Major Scale

This scale sounds most complete when you have at least 9 or more notes on your kalimba. I sell a Cat-Handled kalimba on my website that has 9 notes. Fine tune the lowest note per the instructions above. Either on a tuned guitar or keyboard, find the lowest note you just tuned the kalimba to and go up 2 notes and tune the second note of the kalimba to that. Go up 2 more notes for the third note, up 1 more note for the fourth, up 2 more for the fifth, 2 more for the sixth, 2 more for the seventh, 1 more for the eighth, and 2 more for the ninth. After you’re done, you’ll notice that no matter which note you start with in this scale, you always end up with the eighth note being an octave above the first, and the ninth note an octave above the second.

I hope this helps you get more out of your kalimba. Please feel free to ask questions if you need any clarification or to share any useful videos or articles that you think might help others with their kalimba tuning.