Kalimba range

The kalimba’s range in notes and hertz

The range is the key count, and every size is a C-major run. A kalimba in another key moves the whole range. Kalimba music is written as tabs or numbers.

Written and sounding pitch

Kalimba music is usually read from tab, letters or numbers rather than a staff, so there is no conventional written range to give. The notes above are the pitches you hear.

Range by size

Instruments with a similar range

The instruments whose normal range shares the most notes with the kalimba’s:

• Violin · G3–E7 29 notes shared
• Viola · C3–D7 29 notes shared
• Cello · C2–A6 29 notes shared
• Mandolin · G3–D7 29 notes shared
• Harp · C2–A6 29 notes shared
• Flute · C4–C7 29 notes shared

Tune it, play it

• Kalimba tuner — tune by microphone, with the kalimba’s own target notes.
• Play a kalimba online — the same range, playable in your browser.

Songs that fit the kalimba

34 songs from our public-domain library fit inside the kalimba’s range, each written out in the notation kalimba players read:

• Hot Cross Buns
• Lightly Row
• Going Home (New World Largo)
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Happy Birthday
• Ode to Joy
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Jingle Bells
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Yankee Doodle
• Silent Night

All 34 kalimba songs ›

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The chart behind our playable kalimba, itself checked note by note against published charts.