About Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tibetan Singing Bowls are typically classified as a type of bell. Rather than hanging inverted as most bells do, a singing bowl sits with the bottom surface resting. The sides and rims of singing bowls vibrate when played to produce a “singing” sound. The sound is created in much the same way as running your fingers over the rim of a wine glass.

Tibetan singing bowls are traditionally made gold, silver, mercury, copper, iron, tin or lead. These seven metals correspond to the seven planets of the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The actual pitch of sound that you hear from a Tibetan singing bowl will depend on the thickness, size and weight of the bowl itself. The pitch is fixed but it can be controlled with regards to tone and volume by the force of the tap, hardness of the striking stick and the point of percussion.

Antique Tibetan Singing Bowls are very unique in that they are multi-phonic musical instruments which produce multiple harmonic overtones simultaneously. The overtones produced are a result of their metalworking and fabrication. They consist of multiple metals which were produced by a hammering technique. Newer bowls typically are cast metal and not hammered, thus producing only one tone. Tibetan singing bowls today are used worldwide both within and without the spiritual traditions of the Bon and Buddhist sadhana. They are typically used as methods for spiritual tradition as well as meditation, relaxation, health care and personal well-being.

Playing a Tibetan Singing Bowl

Tibetan Singing bowls are typically played by rubbing a mallet made of wood, plastic or wrapped in leather. To play, you rub the rim of the bowl with the mallet. This produces the overtones and singing sound. Antique singing bowls produce a complex chord of overtones which are harmonic when played. They may also be played by striking the bowl with a soft mallet in order to produce a warm bell tone.

In order to play the Tibetan singing bowl, you should keep the bowl in the palm of your hand. While holding the bowl, rub the rim of the bowl with your stick in a circular motion. You should also keep the pressure constant as the musical sound is produced. Each bowl will have a different speed and a different pressure that must be used in order to make it “sing”.

You should be able to feel the vibrations in your hand without dampening it with your fingers. While many users simply tap the bowl with the striker and let it ring, the true bell sound can be accomplished by rubbing the mallet across the rim. The clear tone of the bowl can help in the concentration required in which to play it. Bowls that have been hand hammered will sing and produce a gong-like sound with many different tones, so the bowl may “sing” in different tones and harmonies.

The Chakra Method

Both antique singing bowls and new bowls are used around the world to aid in meditation as well as in yoga, music therapy and many religious services. Many people use Tibetan singing bowls to locate their Chakras. Chakras are the energy centers that are located in your body. The Chakra method is used to implement the various chords to promote energy healing. In order to determine each note you must know the Chakra for each Tibetan singing bowl. Each bowl corresponds to the Chakra. For instance, the Root Chakra is located at the base of your spine. It determines your drive and ambition among other aspects. The musical note for your root chakra is “C”. In order to effectively use the Chakra method of energy healing, you must correspond each of the seven Chakra regions of your body to the Tibetan singing bowls in order to correctly reach the musical note requirements.