Any more we see people using Tibetan or Himalayan Singing Bowls this way. They rub the edge of the bowl with a striker to obtain an intense soulful sound. I’ve done it – and do it too. But I’ve learned a few things about the production of sound and how sound is produced with these bowls and there is, in fact, a problem with doing this very process – at least sometimes. I hope to make you a better consumer of sound and a user of these precious bowls.
I must admit; I was in a new-age store recently that had bowls in its inventory for sale. I witnessed a staff member confidently demonstrating to a customer the ‘right way” to use the singing bowl. It made me cringe at how uninformed, uneducated methods can quickly become known as “THE” correct way. And just so you know I’m not making this stuff up; I’ve completed my second Vibrational certification program run by a PhD in Chemistry & Science who uses an expensive piece of equipment to test bowls for this very feature.
When it comes to bowls there are three primary types: 1- hand-hammered metal, the most highly prized which I’ll get to in a moment 2 – metal machine made 3- crystal/glass. Of the 3 only the hand hammered will produce a binaural beat. A binaural beat is where two tones are heard, and the brain produces a third and, in the process, starts moving the brain state towards theta brain wave but certainly gets highly relaxed. This is the optimum state you want. It’s meditative; your brain produces serotonin and oxytocin and in turn, relaxes your entire body. Your heart rate goes down, as does your blood pressure. I could go on about the documented benefits, but I think you get the picture.
When you rub or “sing” that particular bowl you will NOT produce those highly prized binaural beats and all of the Zen-like properties. You will get a very intense sound, which isn’t really relaxing unless you have a big space to absorb the sound. To get binaural beats, you must strike the bowl.
With the other two types of bowls, you will never obtain binaural beats. They are still very nice to experience but if you want relaxation or meditation, you will want to obtain a hand-hammered bowl and strike it rather than rub it on the edge.
When would you rub or sing your bowl? The sound is intense and can fill a room very easily. It’s not as relaxing so it may not be as therapeutic but if you find that it is, then use it. I save this means of producing sound for sound baths and spreading the sound over several people at one time. But over time, I’ve discovered I use it less often because striking the bowls and taking advantage of the binaural beats along with the specific planetary frequencies I focus on produce very deep meditations for the people present.
I personally would never use “singing” a bowl as part of Sound Therapy simply because you are now in a one-on-one situation and each sound that is made is heard more acutely. The bowls tend to be closer if not on the individual and the sound must be subdued. “Singing” a bowl is intense to begin with and difficult at best to control how much sound it produces. An experienced and thoughtful Sound Therapist should know and understand this, but my observation is that there are some simply lack this awareness.
I think with the growing popularity of Sound Therapy, Sound Baths, and Crystal Bowls there’s a belief that the only or best way to interact with a singing bowl is to make it sing by rubbing its edge. I’m here to tell you that striking it will also make it sing in magical ways that many people don’t realize. But now you do.
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