Playing Techniques for Crystal Singing Bowls
Perhaps you have already heard of Crystal Bowls, perhaps you have even heard them in a meditation and felt the profound effects. However, many people wonder how to produce sounds from such quartz bowls.
There are many different playing techniques that are often performed even with different mallets. By playing different techniques, many different sounds and overtones can be coaxed out of a single crystal singing bowl. (Unfortunately, this is only possible with handmade Crystal Bowls, such as AkashaBowls®, machine-made singing bowls have inherently lower frequencies and overtones).
The main playing techniques are:
1. STRIKE/CHIME: Striking the bowl with a leather mallet. You can experiment with the force with which you strike the bowl: But always stay gentle and don't strike directly on the rim at first, but about 3 cm below. You can also hit different areas of the bowl and feel how and if the sound changes.
2. "WHIRLING" also called CIRCULATING: If you just run the mallet around the rim (with or without hitting the Crystal Bowl first), you can create a vibration of the bowl and nice frequencies. Again, experiment with the pressure and the areas you go around with the mallet. Glass mallets with a rubber coating are good for this.
Task: Hold your mallet upright like a pencil and place it on the rim of your Crystal Bowl at a 45-degree angle. Using gentle pressure, guide the mallet around the rim of the bowl for 1-2 cycles. Release the mallet when you feel the Crystal Bowl begins to vibrate and gives the sound room to spread. You can do this after "striking" when the bowl is already vibrating, or you can create the sound from stillness by swirling the bowl.
Whirling clockwise: brings in energy / playing for yourself.
Whirling counterclockwise: clears the energy / facilitates letting go / playing for others
3. BOWING: bowing creates a softer energy. Hold your mallet like a pencil, but so that it is horizontal/parallel to the floor. Place the mallet about halfway up the outer surface of your bowl and begin a "sawing" motion, moving the mallet back and forth with light pressure, like playing a violin or cello. (You can also stroke a horizontal figure eight here) You can also swirl the mallet around the entire outside of the bowl, keeping it horizontal but never touching the rim of the bowl.
This technique usually works very well with Practitioner Crystal Bowls (for example the Dove Spirit AkashaBowls® Crystal Bowl or Chalice Crystal Bowls e.g. Chalice Bumblebee Spirit AkashaBowls® Crystal Bowl, i.e. Crystal Bowls that can be held in the hand.
With Crystal Bowls that stand on the floor, it usually takes some practice and fingertip feeling. Just keep at it and practice diligently then it will work for sure!
Pics by Marion Vogel
The general point is to get to know each Crystal Bowl, as each handmade Crystal Bowl is unique and therefore different mallets/techniques work better than others. Just give yourself time and practice patience with your beautiful AkashaBowls® Crystal Bowls!
The point is to practice and experience different sounds and frequencies with your personal bowl(s). Try the different techniques one at a time and also begin to combine them.
Feel where you feel the vibration in your system the strongest, then also place the bowl in front of each chakra and feel if there is any resistance or discomfort. This would be a sign of an unbalanced chakra.
This way you can find out for yourself and also for your clients where the physical and energetic areas are that need more attention to get back into balance and where you can put your focus in the next session or sessions. But always re-evaluate and adjust. Our system is very subtle and sometimes responds to energetic changes through tones immediately. This means that some blockages and problems may be cleared, but this may cause new ones to appear in a different area.
Play with the different playing techniques and try them all out, even in combination if you like.
Which is your favorite technique?
You want to know more about Sound Healing and the power of sounds to contribute to the World Sound Healing Day? Then inquire about the various courses of the Sound Medicine Institute Germany's! No matter if you need a short introduction or an intensive, deep-dive and scientifically based Sound Meditation course, here everyone gets his money's worth!