Online Harmonium
Play a 42-key harmonium with Sa Re Ga labels in any scale, with reeds, a drone and alankar practice. Free, no ads, no sign-up.
Play the glowing key. The strip above shows what comes next.
Turn your phone sideways to see more keys (the whole keyboard on most phones).
Press Record, play something, then Stop. Your tune becomes a link.
Keyboard: Q is Sa. The Q W E row plays up from Sa and the number keys play the komal notes and tivra Ma; the Z X C row is the octave below. Each key shows its letter.
How to play the online harmonium
- Tap a key and hold it: a harmonium sounds for as long as the key is down. Press several keys for a chord, or slide along the keys to move from note to note.
- On a computer, Q plays Sa. The Q row goes up from Sa (Q W E R T Y U are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni) and the number keys above it play the komal notes and tivra Ma. The Z row is the same an octave lower. The letters follow your scale, so Q is always Sa.
- Set your scale. Choose the key you sing in, by its harmonium name (Safed 1 is C, Kali 1 is C♯ and so on). The labels move so Sa sits on that key, and the exercises and songs follow.
- Choose the reeds. Male is the main set of reeds, Bass adds the octave below and Female the octave above. It starts with Bass and Male open, the pair most harmoniums have; open all three for the fullest sound. The drone holds Sa, and Pa or Ma, under your playing.
- Bellows. Auto keeps the air steady. Choose Pump for the real feel: the air runs out after a few seconds unless you press Pump (or the space bar) to fill the bellows.
- Record and share. Press Record, play, then Stop. The notes, how long you held them and your scale go into the page address, so Share gives you a link that plays your tune back.
Sargam basics: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
Indian music names notes by their place in the scale, not by a fixed pitch. Sa is home, wherever you choose to put it, and the seven notes (swaras) are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni. Sa and Pa never change. The others have a second form:
- Komal (soft, a half step lower) Re, Ga, Dha and Ni are shown underlined. They're the black keys between the shuddha (natural) notes when Sa is on C.
- Tivra Ma (sharp Ma, a half step higher) has a small tick above it.
- Octaves: a dot below a note means the lower octave (mandra saptak), no dot is the middle octave (madhya) and a dot above is the upper octave (taar). The madhya Sa key carries an orange marker.
Harmonium scale names
Singers often name their scale by the harmonium key Sa sits on: the white keys are Safed (white) 1 to 7 and the black keys are Kali (black) 1 to 5, counted from C.
| Harmonium | Key | Harmonium | Key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safed 1 | C | Kali 3 | F♯ |
| Kali 1 | C♯ | Safed 5 | G |
| Safed 2 | D | Kali 4 | G♯ |
| Kali 2 | D♯ | Safed 6 | A |
| Safed 3 | E | Kali 5 | A♯ |
| Safed 4 | F | Safed 7 | B |
Not sure of your scale? Turn on the Sa drone, sing a comfortable "aa" and try scales until the drone sits easily under your voice. As a rough guide, many men sing between Safed 1 and Kali 2 and many women between Safed 5 and Kali 5, but your own voice is the only real guide.
Alankars and raga scales
Alankars are the step-by-step sargam patterns every harmonium player and singer practises: up and down the scale, notes in twos, threes and fours, skips and turns. Choose one under Practice and play the glowing key, or press Listen first to hear it. The raga scales play the aroha (the way up) and avaroha (the way down) of nine common ragas, from Bilawal and Yaman to Bhairav and Malkauns. There are also 12 public-domain songs, such as Twinkle Twinkle and Ode to Joy, in sargam.
- Start slow. Sing each note as you play it ("Sa, Re, Ga…"). Clean and steady beats fast.
- Use the drone. Sa (and Pa) under your practice helps you hear whether each note is in tune with Sa.
- Change the scale. Every exercise follows Sa, so you can practise in your own scale and learn where the notes sit for it.
What it can and can't do
- The sound is synthesized, not recorded. Each reed is built from its harmonics, with the slight beating between reed sets, a short swell as the reeds speak and some air noise. It's meant to sound and feel like a harmonium, but it isn't a recording of one, and a trained ear will hear the difference.
- It isn't microtonal. Like most harmoniums it plays the 12 equal-tempered notes, so it can't play shrutis or meend (glides between notes).
- Phones held upright show about ten white keys at a time (about eight with Big keys). Use the arrows or the strip above the keys to move, or turn the phone sideways to see more keys (the whole keyboard on most phones).
- Bluetooth headphones add a delay between your tap and the sound. Wired headphones or the phone's speaker respond faster.
Questions
Is this online harmonium free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser with no sign-up, no ads and nothing to install.
Why can't I hear anything?
Browsers only allow sound after you interact with the page, so tap "Tap to start" first. If it's still quiet, check your volume, and in Pump mode make sure the bellows have air. On recent iPhones the harmonium plays even in silent mode, which also pauses music from other apps while you play. On older iOS versions, turn silent mode off.
What are the bass, male and female reeds?
A harmonium has one or more sets of reeds, opened by the stops (knobs) above the keys. The male reeds play the note you press, the bass reeds an octave lower and the female reeds an octave higher. Most harmoniums have two sets, usually bass and male. Here each set is tuned a few cents apart, so together they shimmer gently, as reed sets do.
Can I use a MIDI keyboard?
Yes, in browsers that support Web MIDI, such as Chrome and Edge on a computer. Choose "Use a MIDI keyboard" under the keys and allow access when your browser asks. Safari, including on iPhone, doesn't support Web MIDI.
Is my playing uploaded?
No. Nothing you play leaves your device. A tune you share is packed into the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers don't send to our server. The harmonium remembers your label choice, scale, reeds and key size in your browser so they're ready next time.
How is the sound made?
Live, with the Web Audio API: three sets of reed tones built from their harmonics, a key click, air noise that grows with the number of open keys, a reed-chamber tone filter that darkens when the air runs low, and a small generated room. There are no recordings or samples.