How to Use Singing Bowls

Here at Whisperingtree.net, we offer a wide selection of unique spiritual gifts to help you relieve stress and reach deep peace and a strong center. There are many tools you can use in your quest to achieve spiritual tranquility, but one of the most effective and popular are Himalayan a.k.a. Tibetan singing bowls. These special singing bowls produce a lovely sound that soothes the soul and can help purify energy in yourself or in a room and bring in a wonderfully uplifting atmosphere. We test out and handpick all of our beautiful singing bowls here at Whisperingtree.net, so they have the best tone AND playability of all available singing bowls. Most people ask us how to play these very unique and powerful healing tools, and we have two different methods for how to play your singing bowls below.

Striking

The simplest method for playing singing bowls is to simply strike the singing bowl with the mallet. Hold the singing bowl in one hand with the palm flat. Do not touch the sides of the singing bowl, or you will stop the vibration. Alternatively, you can also place the singing bowl on a flat surface. With your other hand, hold the mallet and lightly strike the exterior wall of the singing bowl with an upward motion. That upward motion brings a more beautiful tone with nicer overtones to the sound. If your mallet has leather or some other padding, this is the side to use to strike the singing bowl. You should hear a pleasant, rich, ringing tone, similar to that of a bell or gong.

Turning on the Edge 

The second, more advanced method for playing singing bowls is known as turning or turning on the edge. For this method, once again place the singing bowl in your flat hand. Do not touch the sides or you will stop the vibration. Take your mallet in the other hand with your thumb and forefinger, the way you would hold a pen. If you are new to singing bowls, lightly strike the exterior wall to start the bowl’s vibrations, and before the sound dissipates, quickly position the mallet on the exterior of the singing bowl’s edge and begin circling with firm even pressure, sort of like you would with your finger on a crystal glass.

Make sure to start turning the mallet on the rim of the singing bowl as soon as the mallet makes contact. Do not stop, or you will stop the vibration and singing bowl won’t sing. As you circle the singing bowl, you may feel the vibration before you hear the tone. If you feel it, you’re on the right track. All you need to do now is either turn a little faster or increase your pressure. If you do not hear or feel anything, try again and try adjusting your angle or your timing as you make contact with the bowl.

This method can be a little trickier and may take more practice than the first one, but it is well worth it for the beautiful, rich sound the singing bowl will produce. You should also note that smaller singing bowls are typically more tricky than larger ones to pick up the knack, but with practice, you’ll definitely get it. It is extremely common to struggle a little at first with this method, but once you get it, you’ve got it! In fact, one of our peeps here at Whisperingtree.net spent three solid days (we were at an event) trying to get this right before it finally clicked. Now she has no trouble whatsoever and can play any of the singing bowls!