Marimba tuner online
This marimba tuner listens to each bar and shows its note, octave and cents off. Use it to check the whole keyboard, compare the reference of your marimba with other instruments or find a bar that sounds out of place.
How to use it
- Press Turn on microphone and allow access. Put the phone above the keyboard, not under the resonators.
- Strike the centre of a bar with a medium mallet and let it ring.
- Read the needle on the sustained part of the sound and note the bars that differ from the others.
- Go through the instrument octave by octave; bass bars ring longer and give steadier readings.
Help and explanations
Many concert marimbas are tuned a little above A440, often to A442 or A443. Set the reference A in the settings to your maker's specification before judging individual bars.
Bars are tuned with their overtones
A marimba bar is carved underneath so that its overtones line up with the fundamental, usually two octaves above on rosewood instruments. If the tuner shows a higher octave, strike more softly with a softer mallet.
Retuning means removing wood from specific spots under the bar. It changes both the fundamental and the overtones, so it is a job for a specialist.
Tips
- Temperature changes the pitch of wooden bars: check in the hall where you will play.
- Use the same mallet and stroke for all bars to compare readings fairly.
- Write the cents of each bar once a year: it shows which ones are drifting.
Frequently asked questions
Can I tune a marimba with this tuner?
You can check the pitch of every bar. The retuning itself, removing wood under the bar, should be done by a specialist.
Are marimbas tuned to 440 or 442 Hz?
Many are tuned to A442 or A443. Change the reference A in the settings to see the bars relative to your instrument's own standard.
Is there a marimba tuner app?
You do not need to install one: this tuner works in your browser with the microphone.
Does it work for xylophone and vibraphone?
Yes, it recognizes any pitched bar. The xylophone tuner explains the octave it sounds in.