Kalimba tab maker and converter
Paste a melody the way you found it, in numbers (1 1 5 5 6 6 5), in letters (C C G G A A G) or in Do Re Mi, and the tab maker writes the same tab in all three formats, side by side. You can also build a melody from scratch by tapping the tines of the drawn kalimba: every tap sounds and lands in the text box.
How to use it
- Type or paste the melody in the box, or tap Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star or Ode to Joy to load an example.
- Choose the kalimba (17, 10 or 8 tines) and its tuning. The usual 17 key kalimba is tuned to C.
- The input format is detected automatically. If your text confuses it, pick Numbers, Letters or Do Re Mi under Input format.
- Check the three columns. A note with a dotted underline isn't on that kalimba: read the suggestion below or press Transpose to move the whole melody.
- Press Copy on any column, Play to hear the melody with every note the same length, and Print to take the tab with you on paper.
Help and explanations
The conversion follows the 17 key kalimba in C, the most common one, plus the 10 and 8 key models. Notes your kalimba doesn't have are flagged with the nearest octave or the neighbouring notes. Everything runs in your browser, with no sign-up, and nothing you type is uploaded.
How to read number kalimba tabs
In a number tab, 1 is the home note of the kalimba. On a C kalimba, 1 is C, 2 is D, 3 is E, 4 is F, 5 is G, 6 is A and 7 is B. A number with no dot belongs to the octave of the middle tine (C4 to B4); one dot above raises it an octave (C5 to B5) and two dots raise it two, where the three highest tines of a 17 key kalimba sit: C6, D6 and E6.
Plenty of tabs swap the dot for a degree sign (1°) or an apostrophe (1'), and some use letters with octave numbers (C4, C5). The converter reads all of these and writes whichever you pick under Octave mark. Notes inside brackets, like (1 3 5), are played together as a chord.
17, 10 and 8 key kalimbas and other tunings
A 17 key kalimba in C runs from C4 to E6. A 10 key kalimba has the 10 middle tines (C4 to E5) and an 8 key kalimba the middle 8 (C4 to C5), so an 8 key tab plays the same on a 17 key instrument. All of them carry only the natural notes of a major scale, so an F♯ on a C kalimba shows up as missing.
On a kalimba tuned to another key, such as G, A or B♭, the whole instrument is shifted: the middle tine becomes the home note and is still 1. That is why a number tab works for any tuning; only the letters and Do Re Mi change. Here the middle tine sits in the octave closest to C4 (G3 on a G kalimba, D4 on a D kalimba).
Tips
- Before you play, check each tine with the kalimba tuner: one tine out of tune makes a correct tab sound wrong.
- To practise a tab without your instrument, open the virtual kalimba: its tines show the same numbers.
- Write one phrase per line and split bars with a slash or a bar line (|). The converter keeps those breaks in all three columns, so the printed tab is easy to follow.
- If the melody comes with guitar chords, shift them in the chord transposer by the same number of semitones you used here.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert piano notes to kalimba tabs?
Type the notes as letters or Do Re Mi, with the octave number if you know it (C4 is middle C on the piano). The converter shows the kalimba numbers and flags the black keys, which a standard kalimba doesn't have.
What does the dot above a number mean in a kalimba tab?
Each dot raises the note one octave. On a C kalimba, 1 is C4 on the middle tine, 1 with one dot is C5 and 1 with two dots is C6. Some tabs write the dot as ° or '; it means the same thing.
Can I play a 17 key tab on an 8 key kalimba?
Only if the song stays between C4 and C5, the 8 middle tines of a 17 key kalimba. Choose 8 tines: the converter flags whatever falls outside and tells you whether a transposition fixes it.
My kalimba is in G. Does the tab change?
The numbers stay the same: 1 is still the middle tine, which is G on a G kalimba. The letters and Do Re Mi change. Pick G under Tuning to see the right note names and hear the melody at real pitch.
Do you have ready-made tabs for songs?
No. The tool converts and checks the melody you bring. The two examples, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Ode to Joy, are public domain tunes.