Singing Bowls

Tanga

My first large (deep sounding) Tibetan bowl is on its way to me soon. I found that these metal ones tend to sit wider while those crystal ones are higher for the lower sounds?

Crystal and Metal - have a different quality of sound. Truth be told - I find alot of crystal just "grates" a little for me (sensitive hearing - a bit like those cats aforementioned). Especially if it's high toned. So REALLY large ones which have a very low tone - would be best for me. Ho Hum - just self eliminated those. :joke:

The 1st one I bought of my 4 is my favourite - about 4.5 inches diameter. When I play it I "feel" it in my Solar plexus area.

Well!! I haven't actually seen Karma Moffett. (just listening to him for years) Fancy that? :thumbsup:
Thanks for posting the link here.
 

Tanga

Night Tanga!

Here is an interesting tidbit about 'singing bowls'

http://www.freesangha.com/forums/practice-tools/what-is-a-tibetan-singing-bowl/

:) Yes - the 7 planets, Overtones and Temple chanting.
(Once-a-year - I do a one-week planetary meditation with ritual, for each planet on it's appropriate day).
I went to an overtone chanting workshop once - and can now overtone a little bit.
The guy teaching learnt Khoomei style chanting from Mongolia.
Fascinating things.
I have a couple of CD recordings of Gyuto Monks (Tibetan) chanting for peace.
My favourite of them is 'Deva Premal and the Gyuto Monks of Tibet'
(I like chanting. The modern ones like 'Mantra Girl' and 'Wah' - are delightful to me).

Here's a guy demo-ing 7 styles of overtone singing, including Khoomei (Tuvan throat singing):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zZainT9v6Q

And an amazing polyphonic overtone singer - Anna-Maria Hefele:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC9Qh709gas
Hope you can open the links - it's presently blocked on mine - something or other needs updating on my computer...
 

The Happy Squirrel

WOW........
 

The Happy Squirrel

My latest singing bowl arrived a few weeks ago and first it didn't sing well with the others. Then It sang nice with one in particular. That second bowl 'became friends' also sings nicely with a third bowl. But the third bowl isn't singing well with the one which just arrived. I hope that make sense. The weird thing is sometimes they sound good together sometimes they don't. And depending on which of the two bowls I play the second one with (the one 'getting along' with the other two, which don't get along with each other), the bowls seem to emanate different combo tones. I heard that old metal singing bowls produced multilayered tones. So that one bowl has several different tones. It is almost as if the bowls have to be 'seasoned' to play together. As if it grows with time to tune in with its friends. I am sure there is a scientific explanation for this phenomena. But I found that to be quite interesting!
 

Tanga

My latest singing bowl arrived a few weeks ago and first it didn't sing well with the others. Then It sang nice with one in particular. That second bowl 'became friends' also sings nicely with a third bowl. But the third bowl isn't singing well with the one which just arrived. I hope that make sense. The weird thing is sometimes they sound good together sometimes they don't. And depending on which of the two bowls I play the second one with (the one 'getting along' with the other two, which don't get along with each other), the bowls seem to emanate different combo tones. I heard that old metal singing bowls produced multilayered tones. So that one bowl has several different tones. It is almost as if the bowls have to be 'seasoned' to play together. As if it grows with time to tune in with its friends. I am sure there is a scientific explanation for this phenomena. But I found that to be quite interesting!

You might be playing the bowl in a particular way that gets one tone out of it - and as you go along the 2nd tone takes over. There are ways to strike or "scrape" the clanger along the edge of the bowl to get it to emit more of the high pitched sound, or more of the base sound - you have to play around with it.
Or... clang the bowl, and then immediately place the clanger on it's edge and swirl the clanger around the circumference, whist it's still vibrating.

There's also "entrainment" - when one vibration draws another into it - or makes something else vibrate along with it. Thus the opera singer is supposed to be able to strike a note that can shatter glass (the glass molecules "entrain" to the sound vibration and then vibrate at a frequency themselves that means they can no longer be stable).
 

The Happy Squirrel

Ah I know what you are talking about. It is when the sound frequency clashed or overlap with each other or something. That is when often you could hear glass window vibrating along whatever sound you are hearing.

:)

The terms striking and ringing seem to be used often but mean different things to different people. I think what you are talking about is the going round and round on the lip of the bowl with a wooden stick covered with wool or suede leather? I don't particularly like to do that I am not sure why. First I hate to erode the already fragile etching that is often found faintly along the rim, also the higher frequency can be too piercing on smaller bowl. I will try it on a bigger one :)