The room is noisy — readings may wander. A quieter spot helps.
Pick a note to check — or just play any field with the mic on.
Each strip is one tuned partial, measured live while the note rings. Bars drifting left = flat, right = sharp; still & green = in tune. Under each reading in cents, the same drift in hertz. The soft gold curve behind the bars is that partial's live spectrum — its peak should sit on the centre line. A faint strip means that partial is too quiet to read. The compound 4th is a secondary partial — most handpans don't tune it, so it often reads silent. That's normal, not a fault.
Looking for a handpan of your own? Tapadum curates handpans in D Kurd and Hicaz — each one sound-tested before it ships, with free shipping & 15-day return across the EU.
Explore the handpan collection →How handpan tuning works
A handpan note is not one pitch but three. Each tone field is shaped so that three of its natural resonances land on musical intervals and ring together: the fundamental, the octave above it (2×) and the compound fifth above that (3×). When the three line up, the note sings long and clear. When one drifts, the note turns dull, short or wavering — even though an ordinary tuner, which only hears the first of the three, may still call it in tune. This tuner measures all three, one note at a time.
How do I know if my handpan is out of tune?
Play each note on its own, let it ring, and read its three main strips. A healthy note holds all three within a few cents; many makers aim to keep each partial within about one hertz of its target. A partial that sits 10–15 cents away is usually audible as a dull or wavering note, and beyond that the note begins to sound sour. One stray reading in a noisy room proves nothing — repeat it somewhere quiet before you worry.
What is the compound fifth?
The third tuned partial: three times the fundamental, which is an octave plus a fifth above it. For A3 (220 Hz) it sits at E5 (660 Hz). It is quieter than the other two, so it is also the hardest one for a phone microphone to read.
Why does the compound 4th strip show nothing?
Standard handpan tuning is 1 : 2 : 3. The compound fourth (8/3×) is not part of it; most instruments do not tune it and it is often simply absent. A silent strip there is normal, not a fault, and it never counts against a note.
My handpan is tuned to 432 Hz. Can I still use this?
Yes — set Reference A4 to 432 (there is a shortcut beside it) and every target moves with it. Not sure which reference your instrument uses? Check a few notes at 440 first: if they all read about 32 cents flat, it is a 432 Hz instrument.
Can I retune it myself?
We would not. A handpan is retuned with hammers on the steel itself; every blow moves all three partials at once, and a wrong one can be permanent. Use this app to find out whether and where your instrument has drifted, then talk to its maker or a professional tuner.
How accurate is a phone microphone?
In a quiet room with a well-ringing note, it reads the fundamental and octave to within a fraction of a hertz and the quieter compound fifth to a few cents. That is enough to tell a healthy note from a drifted one. It is not a replacement for a professional tuner's bench setup, and it does not pretend to be.
Does it work offline? Is my playing recorded?
Once opened, the app works without a connection, and you can add it to your home screen like any other app. Sound is analysed on your device and never leaves it — nothing is recorded, stored or sent anywhere.