Online tsymbaly tuner
Tsymbaly are the Ukrainian hammered dulcimer: metal strings are grouped in courses tuned in unison and struck with two beaters. Folk tsymbaly (Hutsul, Boiko, Podillia and others) have from 10 to 35 courses, concert tsymbaly have 35 chromatic courses, and bridges divide some strings into two segments with different notes. There is no single "course 1 equals this note" chart that fits every instrument, so this page works as a chromatic tuner: you check each string against your own instrument's tuning chart.
Tsymbaly: what the sources confirm
Range limits of concert tsymbaly and the top course of Ukrainian-Canadian tsymbaly in Alberta at A4 = 440 Hz. The course layout depends on the instrument.
| What | Note | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|
| Concert (Schunda system): start of the chromatic range | E2 | 82.41 |
| Concert (Schunda system): highest course | E6 | 1318.51 |
| Extra basses on many models | D2 · C2 | 73.42 · 65.41 |
| Modern extended models: top limit | A6 | 1760.00 |
| Ukrainian-Canadian tsymbaly (Alberta): top course | E5 or E♭5 | 659.26 or 622.25 |
How to use it
- Keep the "Free chromatic" profile, set A4 if needed (440 Hz by default) and enable the microphone.
- Mute the other strings of the course and the neighbouring courses with your fingers or a cloth, then strike one string lightly with a beater or pluck it.
- Compare note and octave with your instrument's tuning chart. To hear a target, choose the note manually and press play.
- Tune the first string of the course, then each remaining string to the same note. Finally strike the whole course and remove any beating.
Help and explanations
What the sources confirm: concert tsymbaly have 35 courses in a chromatic scale from E2 (82.41 Hz) to E6 (1318.51 Hz), the documented standard range of the Schunda system. Many models add bass strings down to C2 (65.41 Hz), and modern extended instruments reach A6 (1760 Hz). In Ukraine, Schunda tsymbaly entered teaching and the stage in the 1960s and have nearly replaced folk instruments in music schools.
Courses, bridges and divided strings
On Schunda-system concert instruments, from F♯3 upwards every other course is divided by a bridge in a 2:3 ratio and sounds two notes a fifth apart; the highest courses are divided in three. On Ukrainian-Canadian tsymbaly in Alberta, the left bridge likewise divides half the courses 2:3, while the right bridge carries the other courses undivided (Brian Cherwick, 1995). The sources do not say which side sounds higher, so measure the segment your chart specifies.
Semitones on a large instrument are spread irregularly, and mirrored layouts exist (the "Hungarian" and "Jewish" arrangements). If one side of a divided course is right and the other is not, do not correct it with the pin: the bridge position or the string seating needs attention. The tuner does not know which course you struck and does not set bridges; it only measures pitch precisely.
Folk tsymbaly: charts exist, but no single tuning
Ukrainian tsymbaly were once tuned diatonically. Mykola Lysenko documented a tuning common in the late 19th century which, transposed a semitone higher, lets the player use C, G and D major and their relative minors. Today's Ukrainian-Canadian tsymbaly in Alberta have 16 to 22 courses and a nearly chromatic tuning; the top course is E5 (659.26 Hz), retuned to E♭5 (622.25 Hz) when the band plays in flat keys.
The semi-concert tsymbaly of the Chernihiv factory (prima, alto and bass designed by O. Nezovybatko and I. Skliar, 1950–1986) have their own design: a 1956 specimen has 63 strings in 21 triple courses. Their range is not published in the sources consulted. For Hutsul, Boiko or semi-concert instruments, keep a chart from the maker or teacher, or from Nezovybatko's books such as Tsymbaly ta yikh nastroiuvannia (1962).
Tips
- Tune one string at a time: if you strike the whole course at once, a single out-of-tune string hides in the combined sound. On a concert instrument keep the damper off the strings (pedal down) while measuring.
- Wound bass strings have strong overtones, so check the octave on screen before tightening (E2 = 82.41 Hz, C2 = 65.41 Hz). Thin treble strings can break if pulled up to the octave above.
- Make a second pass over all courses: as dozens of steel strings change tension, strings you already tuned and the soundboard shift. Choose A4 before you start, because changing the reference later means retuning everything.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard course-by-course tsymbaly tuning?
Not a universal one. Schunda concert tsymbaly are chromatic from E2 to E6, with extra basses down to C2 on many models; folk tsymbaly have 10 to 35 courses; and layouts differ. Use your instrument's chart in chromatic mode.
What is the range of concert tsymbaly?
35 chromatic courses from E2 (82.41 Hz) to E6 (1318.51 Hz), the standard range of the Schunda system. Hungarian sources add D2 and C2 basses, and modern extended models reach A6 (1760 Hz).
How do I tune a course of several strings?
Mute every string of the course except one and tune it with the tuner. Then release and tune the others in unison one by one. Finally strike the whole course: beating, a wavering in the sound, means one string is still out of unison.
Is this the same as a hammered dulcimer or mountain dulcimer tuner?
Tsymbaly are a kind of hammered dulcimer, but do not assume the usual American hammered dulcimer layout: use your own instrument's chart in chromatic mode. The mountain dulcimer is a plucked fretted instrument with only a few strings; it has its own dulcimer tuner.