My Sanshin Tuner - Chindami

A free, simple tuner for the Okinawan sanshin. Pluck a string and the app hears which one it is. A face shows how close you are, frowning when you're off and smiling in green when you're in tune, and a drawing shows which karakui to turn, and which way.

■ Just pluck Recognises the low, middle and high string automatically. No order to follow, nothing to set up. Or pick one string to tune just that one. A dot on the arc shows how far off you are, and the meter turns green when you're there. A completion screen celebrates once all three strings are in.

■ Which karakui to turn A drawing of the head shows which karakui to turn, and whether to tighten or loosen it. Big enough to follow with your phone on a stand and both hands on the sanshin.

■ Tunings and pitch All five common tunings: honchōshi, niagi, sansage, ichiage and ichisage, plus a custom tuning where you set each string yourself. Pick the base pitch by pitch-pipe number 1 to 6 (A to D) and all three targets follow.

■ Reference tones Tap a string to hear its target note, keep it sounding as a drone, or play all three to check the chord by ear.

■ Note names Kunkunshi (合・四・工), solfège or letters, your choice.

■ Settings Accuracy: Standard (within ±10 cents, quick to reach, for everyday practice) or Precise (within ±5 cents, for performing and recording). Reference pitch A4 of 440, 441 or 442 Hz, microphone sensitivity, Japanese or English.

■ Private by design Free, no ads, no account. Works offline. Microphone audio is analysed on the device only and is never recorded or sent anywhere.

Built so that someone picking up a sanshin can tune it in under a minute without reading instructions. A short guide shows the way the first time; tap ? to see it again.

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