Russian
The tuning, or set of notes, can vary widely. Major, minor, pentatonic and other traditional scales are common in Western-style instruments. African instruments often use their own tunings, which may not match equal temperament. The most common single-row layout forms an inverted V: the lowest note is in the centre, then the next is one place to the right, one to the left, two to the right, two to the left, and so on. An ascending scale is played by alternating thumbs.
Some layouts are mirrored. Our catalogue identifies the direction as “Start Hand”: if you begin the alternating ascending sequence with the right hand, it is “right”; if you begin with the left, it is “left”.
You can change the tuning yourself. With practice, this takes about 5–30 minutes.