How do you play a singing bowl?

One of the most frequent questions we get at the dharmashop is "how do I play my singing bowl"?  With a little practice and a few practical tips you'll be getting peaceful tones from your handmade bowl in no time. 

1. Hold the bowl lightly with your hand, don't grasp it (a good Buddhist theory put into practice) you want the bowl to sing and resonate so dont hold on too tightly. 

2. it often helps to strike the bowl gently and then start to sing the bowl by firmly holding the striker and rubbing the outside rim of the singing bowl. 

3. Large or hand hammered bowls will often have many tones, play them with wooden, felt or leather sticks to hear different tones. Cast bowls (as shown in the video) have a single tone that is usually quite clear. 

4. Be patient, it takes time to learn how to sing the bowl with ease.  Just spend some time following the tips here to get decades of beautiful sound from these handmade masterpieces. 

See all of our singing bowls here!