Pan flute tuner for zampoña and siku
The zampoña, or siku in Aymara, is the pan flute of the Andes: cane pipes stopped at the bottom and bound in two rows, the arca and the ira. Each pipe gives one note and the scale alternates between the rows; in traditional sikuri music each player takes one row. This pan pipe tuner compares each pipe you blow with its target note and shows the difference in cents.
13-pipe malta zampoña: notes and frequencies at A = 440 Hz
Sounding pitch at A4 = 440 Hz, no transposition. Malta zampoña in G major / E minor: the arca (7-pipe row) starts on D4, the longest pipe, and the ira (6-pipe row) on E4; alternating the rows gives the scale from D4 to B5. Some authors swap the names ira and arca, so go by the note.
| Step | Row | Pipe | Note | Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 1 | D4 | 293.66 |
| 2 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 1 | E4 | 329.63 |
| 3 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 2 | F♯4 | 369.99 |
| 4 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 2 | G4 | 392.00 |
| 5 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 3 | A4 | 440.00 |
| 6 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 3 | B4 | 493.88 |
| 7 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 4 | C5 | 523.25 |
| 8 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 4 | D5 | 587.33 |
| 9 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 5 | E5 | 659.26 |
| 10 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 5 | F♯5 | 739.99 |
| 11 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 6 | G5 | 783.99 |
| 12 | Ira (6-pipe row) | 6 | A5 | 880.00 |
| 13 | Arca (7-pipe row) | 7 | B5 | 987.77 |
How to use it
- Click Turn on microphone and pick your zampoña’s size and pipe count under Profile.
- Warm the instrument up for a minute, then blow one pipe softly and steadily, without vibrato. Automatic follows the nearest pipe; tap a pipe in the list to lock it.
- Green means within ±5 cents; Below target means flat and Above target sharp. Labels give the row (with its pipe count) and the pipe number, counting from the longest.
- Measure two or three times before touching the wax or stopper: breath pressure moves the pitch too.
Help and explanations
It opens on the 13-pipe malta (7+6), sold as a “zampoña in E minor 7x6”, at A4 = 440 Hz: the arca runs from D4 (293.66 Hz), the longest pipe, to B5, and the ira from E4 to A5. There are also 15- and 23-pipe maltas, the chuli, sanka and toyo, and a free chromatic mode.
Notes of a 13-pipe zampoña (7+6)
At A = 440 Hz the arca (7-pipe row) plays D4 F♯4 A4 C5 E5 G5 B5 and the ira (6-pipe row) E4 G4 B4 D5 F♯5 A5: together, a G major scale from D4 to B5, with no transposition.
Row names vary. Most methods and makers call the longer row, the one with the low D, the arca, but some authors swap the names, and players in Jujuy say first and second. So each label also shows the row size: the note is what counts.
If the longest pipe of your 13-pipe zampoña is not D4 (say E or G, or one sold “in A minor”), it is another design: use free chromatic mode, as for chromatic zampoñas, 17- or 19-pipe sets and single-row pan pipes such as the antara or the Romanian nai.
Chuli, malta, sanka and toyo sizes
Each size sits an octave from the next: the chuli an octave above the malta (D5–B6), the sanka or zanka an octave below (D3–B4) and the toyo two below, reaching B1 (about 62 Hz) on the 15-pipe model, so blow firmly with the phone close to the pipe. The 23-pipe malta (12+11) spans G3 to A6. The chuli, toyo and 23-pipe profiles follow the octave rule and makers’ measurements: check them against your instrument.
How to tune a pan flute: wax, stoppers and temperature
A zampoña has no pegs: each pipe is tuned by changing its air column. More beeswax or small pebbles at the bottom shorten it and raise the note; removing wax lowers it. With a sliding stopper, pushing it toward the mouth of the pipe (less air inside) raises the note, and pulling it toward the bottom lowers it.
Work a millimetre at a time: 1 mm moves about 6 cents on a 29 cm pipe and about 40 on a 4 cm one. Push slowly so the stopper does not tilt and silence the pipe. Trimming the top of a pipe raises the pitch for good. Tune at the temperature you will play in: the zampoña plays sharper in warm air, by about 3 cents per °C.
Tips
- Blow softly across the rim: overblowing makes a stopped pipe jump a twelfth (D4 to A5, for example) and the tuner shows another note.
- On double zampoñas or sets with resonator pipes, measure only the stopped pipe you blow into.
- Practise the scale alternating ira and arca with the metronome. In a band, check flutes and ocarinas at the same A with the flute tuner or the ocarina tuner.
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes on a 13-pipe pan flute?
On the 13-pipe malta zampoña (7+6) in E minor at A = 440 Hz: arca D4 F♯4 A4 C5 E5 G5 B5, ira E4 G4 B4 D5 F♯5 A5. The table below gives each pipe’s frequency. Other pan flutes, such as the Romanian nai, use other layouts.
What does “zampoña in E minor 7x6” mean?
It is the 13-pipe malta, with 7 pipes in one row and 6 in the other, tuned in G major, whose relative minor is E minor. That is why the longest pipe plays D4, not E.
What notes does an 8 and 7 pipe zampoña play?
That is the 15-pipe malta in E minor: the 8-pipe row plays B3 D4 F♯4 A4 C5 E5 G5 B5 and the 7-pipe row C4 E4 G4 B4 D5 F♯5 A5. Choose the “Malta 15 pipes” profile.
My troupe doesn’t tune to 440 Hz. Can I still use it?
Yes. Traditional sikuri troupes tune to each other: a malta from Azángaro, Puno, measured from recordings, sits almost a semitone above the A = 440 standard and off equal temperament. Blow the longest pipe of the lead zampoña and press Capture reference, or change Reference A.
Do I need to download an app to tune my pan flute?
No. It runs free in your phone or computer browser; the sound is analysed on your device and never uploaded.