How To Play A Tibetan Singing Bowl

How To Play A Tibetan Singing Bowl

By Isis James

Tibetan singing bowls are an excellent tool for meditation, relaxation and healing. When played properly, they produce resonant, harmonious sounds that are quite pleasing to the ear. Learning how to play one requires a few simple steps and takes only a minimal amount of practice to master.

Holding the Singing Bowl: Hold the bowl in the palm of your hand. Make sure that your fingers are flat and not curled around the bowl and that it is at a level comfortable for you. Common positions include near heart level, stomach-level, or resting in your lap if you are sitting down. If the bowl is too large or heavy to hold comfortably in your hand, place it on a hard, flat surface like the floor or a table, making sure to place a soft cloth underneath. There are two main basic techniques to playing singing bowls. They are:

Striking the Bowl: With a padded mallet, simply strike the rim of the bowl. This technique produces a sound that resonates for a while after the initial strike. Make sure to directly hit the rim and not the sides of the bowl, as hitting the sides will create a muddled sound. Increasing the strength of your strike will produce a louder and more powerful tone, but be careful not to hit too hard, as it will produce a dissonant, unpleasant sound.

Singing the Bowl: With your hand relaxed and close to the singing bowl, firmly hold a wooded, unpadded mallet against the rim. With a constant and even pressure, slowly rub the mallet against the rim of the bowl. Keep doing this until the sound of the bowl reaches a strong, full tone. A rattling sound means you are going too fast and may also need to apply more pressure. After the bowl reaches a full tone, you can vary the speed of the mallet to modify the sound - a faster pace will produce a more active tone, while a slower speed will make it less intense.

You can also experiment with how you grip the mallet as well as the angle you hold it to produce different sounds and to find a style of playing that is comfortable for you. Try playing the bowl in different ways until you find the perfect balance of mallet angle, speed, and pressure that produces a sound that lasts indefinitely.

With these simple techniques, playing your singing bowl becomes simple, fun, and relatively easy. Practice playing on a regular basis to produce beautiful, harmonious and relaxing music.

Visit my site to learn more about how to play a tibetan singing bowl, meditation gongs, and more.

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