Uses of Tibetan Singing Bowls
When searching for a singing bowl, the most important thing to remember is that you’re attracted to the bowl itself. Make sure the bowl speaks to you through it shape, features and appearance. Look at the patina and the markings and see what fits your style. It’s also important to discover what basic tone personifies you. To do this try and hear what tone speaks to you the most, what tone echo’s in your head, what tone do you hum when it’s a spontaneous moment, what is your primal sound when you recite the “
After discovering a bowl that you feel embodies you, experiment with the sound of the bowl by striking or rubbing it with several different kinds of strikers. Most people use a wooden striker, which may be covered with a strip of suede, leather, or plastic tape. Other strikers can include drumsticks with a felt or rubber end – similar to what drum majors use with their big bass drums. And finally don’t be afraid to experiment and use materials that you find yourself to make you bowl sing for you.
Depending on the size of the bowl the sound can move in different directions. Larger bowls with thicker rims that bend in can produce a sound that projects down and inward. Bowls with straight rims produce a sound that is projected outward. It’s important to realize that every bowl produces a sound unique unto them. Some bowls have a bright, light sound that works better for more mentally stimulating activities such as reading, whereas lower sounds are more suited for meditating. Most people tend to collect several different bowls whose sound speaks to them and all of which can sing different tunes. By owning a collection of bowls that have unique and different sounds you are capable of creating special harmonics, but if you are looking for specific a note from the bowls a tuning device is required to find the desired bowl with the right pitch. However, one must realize that Tibetan singing bowls are all handmade and therefore their sounds and notes can vary as well as have harmonics that change throughout their singing range.
Making your Bowl Sing
1) Check out the acoustics of the room if you are planning to do any therapy or group meditation.
2) Place the bowl in the palm of your hand, the tips of your fingers, on a small pillow or on a ring. Make sure there is as little contact as possible with the bowl so as not to impede the vibrations.
3) Tap or gong the side of the bowl in various places with varied amount of force depending on the desired sound; use the rim, the rounded outer surface and the inside. Hold the striker loosely in your fingers and strike the bowl freely to create long-lasting sound.
4) To make the bowl sing use a wooden striker and run around the outside edge of a bowl with a modicum of pressure. Listen for the different harmonics as you create a spiral of energy
5) Remember that no two singing bowls will sound the same. The sounds the bowl emits depend on the size and thickness of the bowl, how much pressure is applied if singing, how hard you strike it when you gong it, or how the bowl is placed in your hand or on a pillow.
6) Sets of different bowls can be assembled in different ways including; as a scale, as chords, according to different planet tones and personal taste.
Learning to Listen
In Singing Bowl: exercises for personal harmony, author Anneke Huyser writes that because of the constant sounds we endure in our busy everyday lives – from the TV to the people in our lives - many of us tend to become numb to the more subtle sounds of our environment. She writes that listening to singing bowls requires “an open and attentive attitude, not so much to analyze the sounds but to be present, aware, alert and to try and catch the individual sounds and harmonics with the ear,” (Huyser p 83). So it is essential that when sitting down with your singing bowl you will not be interrupted or bothered during your time. With this silence you should be able to practice and learn to quietly listen to the subtleties of your bowl. But if you really want to listen in a completely relaxed state have someone else strike the bowl(s) for you while you remain motionless. For those who sing their bowls the harmonics that envelope the room can be heard the closer the bowl is to your ear. These harmonics can have a great influence on your body as well as your mind; bringing it all into harmony with themselves and the bowl. As your session reaches an end it’s important to learn to hear the sound in your inner ear even after the reverberations from the bowl(s) finally die down. While practice makes perfect when singing the bowl, listening to your body becomes just as significant as listening to the hum of the bowls. In the end the harmonics from the singing bowl should help to open up your body to your true spirit.
With two or more bowls you have the ability to create a harmony with the bowls. Some bowls reinforce each other’s volume; others can take over the sound of smaller bowls with its volume or pitch. For many people they may not be able to hear the harmony the bowls create, a lot of this can be attributed to cultural differences between Western and Eastern cultures and how we hear things, especially music, harmony and beats. One of the most crucial attributes that singing bowls have is their natural vibration intervals that happen when you sing them, the harmonics that occur are sounds that Westerners are not accustomed to, so it’s imperative that one learns to listen again to truly begin to appreciate the song the bowls create. By learning to listen again and accepting the new sounds created by the singing bowls we are able to better surrender to the sounds that enter the body and help attain a state of tranquility and peace as you let the vibrations work their way through your mind, body and soul.
Other Uses for Singing Bowls
1) Physical healthcare
2) Psychological health care
3) Putting people at ease
4) Relaxation
5) Harmonization of life forces
6) Stimulating the mind and spirit
7) Enhance creativity
8) Improve mental vision
9) Sleep treatments
10) Increased sense of well-being
While it is important to note that singing bowls and the sound treatments they provide are not an alternative to medicine, there is new research that is showing the increased benefits singing bowls and their sound can provide to those who are infirmed.
