Khim tuner online
The khim (ขิม) is the Thai hammered dulcimer, adapted from the Chinese yangqin and struck with two flexible bamboo beaters tipped with leather, rubber or felt. It entered Thai classical music under King Rama VI (1910–1925) in the mixed string ensemble and is now a popular first instrument in primary schools. The standard model, the 7-bridge khim, has two rows of seven bridges: 14 courses of three strings, 42 strings in all.
Thai pitch standard 2021 and the nearest Western notes
Values from the Fine Arts Department announcement as reported by a 2023 study. Use them if your teacher or ensemble follows this standard; the table does not assign tones to specific khim bridges.
| Thai tone | Frequency (Hz) | Nearest Western note |
|---|---|---|
| Do | 254.2 | C4 −50 cents |
| Re | 280.7 | C♯4 +22 cents |
| Mi | 309.9 | D♯4 −7 cents |
| Fa | 342.2 | F4 −35 cents |
| Sol | 377.8 | F♯4 +36 cents |
| La | 417.2 | G♯4 +8 cents |
| Ti | 460.6 | A♯4 −21 cents |
| Do (high) | 508.5 | C5 −50 cents |
Lin, Punvaratorn & Wangphanich (2023), Journal of Roi Kaensarn Academi 8(8)
How to use it
- Tap Turn on microphone, allow access, then choose a target note and octave or leave detection on automatic.
- Mute two strings of the course with your fingers or a cloth, strike the first one lightly and wait for the pitch to settle after the attack.
- Turn only the tuning pins on the right with the khim key, in small steps, approaching the note from below.
- Bring the other two strings to the first until the beating disappears, then move on course by course.
Help and explanations
This page works in free chromatic mode, without a 14-course chart of notes and hertz, because no source confirms such a chart for the 7-bridge khim. Thai khims are tuned to the phiang o level in a seven-tone system whose steps are, in theory, about 171 cents apart and fall between Western semitones. A well-tuned Thai khim therefore won't read zero on every note of a chromatic tuner. Use this page to match the three strings of each course, check octaves and measure against your own reference.
Thai or international pitch: decide before tuning
The traditional Thai khim follows the khlui phiang o flute, whose do is close to B♭, but no source measures the khim itself, and the pitch level (thang) differs between schools. If seven equal steps were laid out from B♭, the other notes would sit up to about 43 cents from the nearest Western semitone. So don't pull every note to the closest Western pitch, or the khim will no longer blend with Thai instruments. Start from the note your teacher or ensemble gives and use the cents setting to aim at the target.
Central Thai ensembles mainly use the Fine Arts Department's standard instrument set as their reference, and Mahidol University and the Department have released a Thai Tuner app. A 2023 study reports the Department's 2021 pitch announcement shown in the table below, though not every school follows it. The 11-bridge and chromatic khims can be tuned to the international scale, most likely twelve semitones at A4 = 440 Hz, though no source confirms this for the khim; follow the maker's chart.
Bridges, strings and sizes
On many khims the bridges are movable, and a shifted bridge changes the pitch on both sides of the string, so check bridge positions before every tuning. Sizes include 7 bridges (42 strings), 9 (54), 11 (66) and 15 (90); chromatic khims, also called khim sai lot chong, have 14, 16 or 18 bridges per row (84, 96 or 108 strings).
Strings used to be brass; newer khims use stainless steel. Hot, humid weather detunes the khim quickly, so check it before every lesson or performance. Strike lightly with the padded tip: a hard blow boosts the overtones and the tuner may read the upper octave.
Tips
- The pins on the left are hitch pins. Don't turn them; turn only the tuning pins on the right.
- Don't strike all three strings while measuring; the beating confuses the tuner. Measure one string, then listen to the course together.
- Keep the phone near the course you are tuning, in a quiet room.
Frequently asked questions
What notes is a khim tuned to?
There is no single Western chart. Thai khims use a seven-tone system at the phiang o level set by the teacher or ensemble; chromatic khims follow the maker's chart in the international scale.
Why doesn't my teacher-tuned khim read zero on a tuner?
Thai tones are in theory about 171 cents apart, not 100, so many notes fall between Western notes. That doesn't mean the khim is out of tune.
How do I tune the three strings of one khim note?
Mute two, tune the first, then bring the other two to it until there is no beating. All three strings of a course are unisons.
Are the khim's low, middle and high La notes A2, A3 and A4?
Don't treat that as a standard; the equivalence has no source. In the Fine Arts Department's 2021 standard, La is about 417.2 Hz (near G♯4), and if do sits near B♭ as on the khlui phiang o, La would in theory fall near G. Use your teacher's or ensemble's reference.