Khim Online: Play the Thai Khim in Your Browser
This khim online puts the Thai hammered dulcimer (ขิม) in your browser. The khim came from the Chinese yangqin and is played with two thin bamboo beaters with padded tips; in Thai schools it is one of the first instruments many children learn. Here it has 15 strings in pitch order: from left to right ล ท ด ร ม ฟ ซ and on up, from a low ล to the ล two octaves higher.
How to use it
- Tap a string with one or more fingers, or drag across several strings to play them in a row. On a computer, click with the mouse.
- On the computer keyboard, Z X C V B N M , . / play strings 1 to 10 (from the lowest) and A S D F G play strings 11 to 15. Esc stops everything.
- Under Key labels, choose Note names, Computer keyboard shortcuts or No labels to practise without help.
- Press Record, play the melody and press it again to stop. Then use Play, ↓ MIDI, ↓ WAV or Share.
- On a phone, tap Full screen and turn the phone sideways: the strings get wider and easier to hit.
Help and explanations
Please note that this is not the physical layout of the bridges (หย่อง) on a 7-bridge khim. On the real instrument each course of strings sounds on both sides of a bridge, so the notes are spread across the soundboard. Here the scale is laid out in a row so you can play a melody by note names. The sound is a recorded hammered dulcimer, played at the Thai pitches; for the first few notes, while the recording loads, you hear a synthesized sound. A MIDI keyboard works too.
The Thai scale and the string names
The khim uses the Thai scale of 7 equal steps: the octave is split into seven steps of about 171 cents instead of the piano's 12 semitones of 100 cents, so several notes fall between the piano keys. Here ด sounds at about 254 Hz, the value in the pitch table of Thailand's Fine Arts Department (กรมศิลปากร), the same reference used by the khim tuner. Every real khim differs a little.
In English each string shows its scale degree in your note-name system: ด = C (Do), ร = D, ม = E, ฟ = F, ซ = G, ล = A, ท = B. That is the degree, not the piano pitch: this C is not an equal-tempered C. The two Cs are strings 3 and 10 (keys C and /). Because the tuning is not equal-tempered, the page has no chord or scale highlighting and no note challenge. The WAV file keeps the sound you heard; the MIDI file uses the nearest equal-tempered note for each string, so it is an approximation.
Songs to practise
Tunes often used when learning the khim include ค้างคาวกินกล้วย (Khang Khao Kin Kluai) and เต่ากินผักบุ้ง (Tao Kin Phak Bung) for beginners, then ลาวกระทบไม้ (Lao Krathop Mai) and ลาวดวงเดือน (Lao Duang Duean), a classic of Thai music. The page has no sheet music: take the Thai notation from your teacher or book, swap each letter for its degree (ด = C, ร = D…) and play that string. When a note appears on two strings, pick the one closer to the previous note.
Tips
- Find C (ด) first: strings 3 and 10, on the C and / keys. Count up or down from there.
- Play C D E F G A B C up and down slowly with the metronome, then raise the tempo a little at a time.
- On a real khim the two hands alternate beaters; on screen, practise by alternating two fingers.
- To hear the difference in tuning, play the same tune on the virtual piano and compare.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play the khim online with a computer keyboard?
Z X C V B N M , . / play strings 1 to 10, low to high, and A S D F G play strings 11 to 15. The two Cs (ด) are on the C and / keys. Choose Computer keyboard shortcuts under Key labels to see the letter on each string. Esc stops every sound.
Are the strings in the same order as on a real khim?
No. On a 7-bridge khim each course of strings sounds on both sides of a bridge and the notes are spread out. Here the 15 notes sit in a row, from a low ล to the ล two octaves up, so it is easy to play a melody by name.
Can I record what I play and send it?
Yes. Press Record, play and stop. Share creates a link with the notes inside it, ↓ WAV downloads the audio in Thai tuning and ↓ MIDI downloads the nearest equal-tempered notes, which are an approximation.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the browser on Android phones, iPhones, tablets and computers, with no sign-up. The sound is made on your own device and nothing you play is sent to a server.