How to Choose the Right Tibetan Singing Bowl

by Arjun   

You’re looking to buy your first singing bowl? Your second or other one?
Here’s a guide that will help you make an informed decision on one -or ones- suitable for you. 

Take into account:

  • the physical properties, the size, handcrafted or machine-made, the metal composition
  • the sound properties, the tone, frequency and chakra correspondence
  • the usage purpose, for personal use, sound bath, healing
  • your requirements, price, a single bow or a set of complimenting ones.

 

Bowl’s Physical Properties

  1. Size and Style

  • Small bowls (4 – 6 inches in diameter) are light, portable, and produce bright, high-pitched tones, perfect for beginners or personal meditation.
  • Medium bowls (7 – 10 inches) are very versatile, used for meditation, and by practitioners for sound baths, healing, and chakra work. They might require a little more effort to carry around in terms of their weight and volume. Their tones are midtones, pitch perfect for common and “ear-pleasant” sound work.
  • Large bowls (10+ inches) have a deep comforting sound and grounding tones that fill a room. They’re ideal for sound healing and group sessions.
  1. Handmade vs. Machine-Made

  • Handmade or hand-beaten bowls have rich sounds and each has its unique character, mainly due to the small imperfections of manual work. And for that same reason, if you look carefully at these bowls, it is very normal for you to notice small details that show their uneven shapes.
    These bowls are the number one choice of practitioners out there, who find value in the craftsmanship and generational expertise of manufacturers.
  • Machine-made bowls are smooth, uniform, and often more budget-friendly. However they may lack tonal complexity, due to the precision and perfection of machine work.

 

  1. Metal Composition

  • Bronze, the main alloy for handmade bowls:
    Good quality bowls usually use this bell metal, which is an alloy of copper (78%) and tin (22%). They’re known for durability and warm tones. They are the most popular choices out there. The raw material has a relatively high price, which contributes to their higher cost compared to other alloys.
  • Brass, or Aluminum:
    Machine made bowls are typically made from these cheaper metals. These bowls are more affordable as a direct consequence. They may lack the depth and richness of bronze bowls.
  1. Etched & Full Moon Bowls

  • Etched bowls of any size have designs or symbols carved on them, which can add character and meaning to your practice. This is only a plus and not a requirement!
    Etching is only surface work and does not change sound quality at all, it is purely aesthetic.
    These bowls tend to be a bit more expensive as a result of the artisanal carving artwork.
  • Full moon bowls historically are made on a full moon night, with the purpose of balancing the Yin energy within the bowl. But nowadays, it only has to do with aesthetics as well.

 

Bowl’s Sound Properties

  1. Tone and Overtones

In this context, tone refers to the pitch of the sound produced when the bowl is struck, or rimmed. Look for quality in a bowl when it produces a clear, steady tone, which we refer to as the “fundamental”.
An overtone occurs alongside the fundamental and contributes to the richness and timbre of the sound.

  • Most sound practitioners prefer handmade bowls. Their imperfections will contribute to slight variations in the tones and to richness in the overtones, which add warmth and charm to the sound.
  • Machine-made bowls on the other hand have more defined frequencies due to their uniform and symmetrical shape

 

  1. Resonance

Resonance of bowls is their ability to “linger” or sustain their sound, and vibrate in a way that fills a space or interacts with other sounds, after the initial tone is struck or played.

 

  • A good resonance for a bowl is when the sound lasts relatively longer, hence determining how it interacts with the surrounding environment or the user’s body.
  • Bowls with strong resonance are often used in sound therapy because their vibrations can synchronize with the body’s energy fields and chakras.

The  good resonance of handmade bowls makes them once again the main choice of sound practitioners.

 

  1. Frequency and Chakra Correspondence

Chakra healing practices involve striking a singing bowl close to any given chakra of the human body to realign that chakra to its initial healthy state.
There are no two studies that provide identical frequencies for each chakra. Additionally, since most singing bowls are handmade, their tonal frequencies lack precision.

As a general rule for bowl frequencies:

  • Low frequencies (e.g., root chakra bowls) are grounding and calming, reducing fear and anxiety.
  • Medium frequencies (e.g., heart chakra bowls) promote emotional healing.
  • High frequencies (e.g., crown chakra bowls) encourage spiritual awareness and clarity.

 

Your Personal Criteria

  1. Purpose

  • Meditation, personal use: definitely choose the bowl you connect with, by testing your preference between deep or high pitched tones.
  • Sound baths, or group healing: medium and large bowls will cover a wider spectrum of frequencies, and hence will create immersive sounds -ideal for group sessions.

 

  1. One bowl, or a set?

  • Single bowl: if you’re starting out on your “bowl journey”, one bowl can be enough. For example, for sessions that do not focus primarily on sound like a yoga session, a practitioner can use it at different times throughout their session, and for different purposes, like signaling and setting the shift from the physical asanas to the meditation part, or grounding at the end of the Savasana, etc.
  • A set of bowls is perfect for group sessions and chakra work. Imagine yourself playing two or three different bowls one after the other at medium intervals, while having their respective resonating sounds overlap, you will definitely create enchanting harmonies, and you will definitely make a positive vibrational and mental impact on the attendees.
    Needless to say, a set of bowls will be necessary to carry out sound therapy and chakra healing work.

  1. Budget tips

Handcrafted, seven-metal bowls are at the higher end of the price range, but offer excellent sound and overall experience. The high price is due to the higher cost of the raw material, and the fact that they take a relatively longer time to make compared to machine bowls, involving many artisans in the manufacturing process, which include casting and hammering.

Machine-made bowls are great if you’re just starting out or want an affordable choice.

 

Conclusion

Go for it!
Buy your bowl, focus on quality rather than price, and see how you relate to it. Later on, you can upgrade, diversify, and expand, hoping that you would end up with a charming collection!

Ideally and if you can, try the bowl for yourself before buying it. Play it to see how it feels, both in sound and energy. If you’re shopping online, you will notice many retailers provide sound samples -like Sarveda does! Listen to sound clips, preferably with headphones for the best experience.

Good bowling!

Check out our store for a wide range of bowls.

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