I started collecting singing bowls by building my big singing bowl set, which started as a set of 8. In the final form it numbers 64 amazing antique singing bowls. I can play all 64 together and it sounds like a symphony of cosmic vibrations. You can hear the big set on my recording Himalayan Bowls, which was captured live, the only time I successfully recorded the entire set.
I built my set by painstakingly sorting through hundreds of bowls, matching every candidate that came into my possession. I had a huge number of bowls to try, all the antiques I hand selected in Nepal over the years. I sold many of the antiques through my original company Himalayan Bowls. The best bowls that did not become part of my set became part of The Singing Bowl Collection, which is where you are now. The best bowls of my 25 years collecting are now here for sale.
Over the 25 years I’ve been collecting and selling singing bowls, I have made sets for people around the world. Some people like to collect for themselves, others use them professionally. A singing bowl set can number anywhere from 2 bowls to my large set of 64 bowls, which is the largest I know of that all sound harmonious together. Most professional sets number from 8-24 bowls while most “living room” sets number from 3-12 bowls. While that may be the norm, more than one person has a “bowl room” with dozens of different sounding bowls, some in tuned sets and others not.
Why do people like multiple bowls? It is not only to hear the different tones. It is not only because they are trying to work with different chakras or areas of the body. It is because the combination of multiple bowls has its own special power. Something happens when you combine multiple singing bowls. The multiple tones interact in such a way that transforms the sound into something that seems much bigger. The whole experience somehow becomes larger than the sum of its parts.
When you play one singing bowl, you hear 3 tones at once. When you play 3, you are hearing 9 tones: the 3 fundamental tones and 6 harmonic overtones. If you play 10 bowls, that is 30 tones, which is exponentially larger than just one bowl. The added complexity of all the tones creates a much bigger, more special vibrational experience.
The many tones dance and hum, producing a unique shimmering effect that is really spectacular. It is difficult to describe the angelic chorus the antique bowls can make. It inspires people so much, they cannot believe their ears. Some people think our brains are filling in the blank spaces, creating this bigger, symphonic sound. Some people think they are hearing more sounds between the sounds. However you describe it, you are being washed over with many vibrations and the experience is a beautifully rich, sonic tapestry.
As a reminder, when I talk about the great effects of singing bowls, I specifically mean nice antique singing bowls, not crystal or brass singing bowls. New hand hammered bronze singing bowls also produce the multiple harmonic overtones but antiques sound so much better. Only antiques create the magical vibrational experience people so enjoy and they must be nice antiques. Out of tune antiques are no better than any other out of tune bowl and unfortunately many are very out of tune, where the harmonic overtones clash in the individual bowl.
The bowls must also be matched together to sound great together. It is not enough to simply choose a C, E, G note. There is a lot of variety within one note and you must listen to the bowls to get a pleasing combination. A truly great set must be properly tuned to produce the special symphonic, angelic tone. Most sets I hear are out of tune and the magic is never achieved. However, when properly matched, the sound is truly heavenly and one of the most beautiful sounds you will ever hear.
There is nothing quite like a set of antique singing bowls. The added warmth and mellow quality you get with the real antiques makes the experience even more special. The magical hum is accompanied by this special feeling; the vibration you can feel plus the antique presence of these ancient objects. If you have ever gone into a museum or a room full of antiques and felt the special calm feeling, this is what the singing bowls can do for your environment. The rich, relaxing tones cancel out other vibrations in the air, replacing them with the special calm feeling that I call “antique presence.”
Again, the set has to be properly tuned for the magic to occur. I emphasize this point because so many sets, even professional sets, are not nicely tuned. People simply match the note without listening carefully to the how the harmonic overtones blend and without looking for the most harmonious vibration. This is why I was the first person to record singing bowls for the internet. It makes a huge difference when you match the bowls carefully by the tone.
For over 20 years, I’ve offered the online recordings to help you make the most harmonious combinations. The alternative is too difficult: it is not feasible for everyone to sort through hundreds of bowls like I did. It is not possible for you to buy a lot of bowls and ship them back to me. The only options are to have me make the set or to work with my recordings online. Both ways work very well. I am very happy to hear the sets people make as I’m packaging them for shipping. My customers have created some beautiful sets although I do not hear most of them because they do not buy them all at once. Those that do, I enjoy previewing the combinations and making sure they are a good match.
So, my customers have figured this out or they ask me to make a set for them. Over the years, I have made many sets of antiques with the goal of finding this special harmony, the amazing vibrational hum that is produced by a good combination of antique singing bowls. The main benefit I have is access to a large number of bowls. You have access to them, too, and that special sound can be heard even with my recordings. I built the website so you can hear more than one bowl at the same time, just so people can test their combinations.
To build a harmonic set, start with one tone you really love. Make that the centerpiece of your set. Or, you already own some bowls, listen to your live bowls with my recordings. Once you have something to start with, look for another that sounds very harmonious with the first. When they sound good together, you will hear it: the sound is smooth and beautiful. When bowls are not tuned well, you hear the dissonance and feel the vibrations competing. As you add more bowls, you may find it becomes more difficult to find a good match. You may want to substitute one for another. You may have multiple options you like and need to eliminate some. It is a flexible and creative process.
In general, a set can go like a scale with one note after another and close to each other, or you can have a little space between the notes, like a musical chord, or you can have a lot of space between the notes. The final alternative is to have no relationship between the notes, but just to collect bowls on their individual merits. There is no right answer, only possibilities.
One easy way to make a set is to put a lot of space between the notes. It is easier to match one small, one medium and one large bowl than to match three medium bowls. More space between the tones is more forgiving and easier to match. When tones are very close together, they can clash just like if you play all the keys on a piano. When you play any musical instrument, you do not play all the notes at once. There is usually some space between the notes. This actually sounds more musical and pleasant.
Therefore, a set also does not need to be a scale. Many people want a set that is a scale with notes right next to each other, like C, D, E, F, G, A, B. This is great if you want all the notes. Then you can choose which notes to work with. However, they may not all sound great played at the same time. If you want to play all of them at the same time, this is like playing all the keys on a piano: it will sound a bit harsh because the notes are close together. If your goal is to play all the bowls together at the same time, a better way is to leave some space between the notes.
It is a fun exercise to build a set, even if you are only enjoying the sounds on my website. Each combination has a different sound and feeling. Some combinations are quite surprising. Feel free to experiment on my site and see what you come up with. Let me know if you discover anything interesting.
Just be aware that if you listen to many bowls at once, your speakers will become overwhelmed so you must reduce the volume to prevent distortion. Each bowl has its own volume control so you can customize how it sounds. Even so, your computer may be overtaxed by a large number of sounds playing at once, so if the sound becomes distorted, that is more than your system can handle.
The website also features some small sets I have made. I am not concentrating on making sets right now although I know there are many possible sets in the collection. As I work with the bowls, I am on the lookout for exact matches, where it looks like the bowls were made for each other. You can see the best example of this very rare occurrence with SET02 Here.
This is an extreme rarity. Most sets I leave up to customers to build because most people like to do it themselves. I am happy to help if you want some guidance or want me to double check a set you make before purchase.
I have often wondered if the bowls were made together as sets. I often found similar style bowls together. I often found the same types of bowls in graduated sizes. I have even found intact sets that sound so good together, they seem to have been deliberately combined. SET01 Here is such a set, perfectly tuned in a C major scale. Were more of the bowls used together in combinations? Today it is impossible to know to what extent but we do know they have been used as pairs.
You can still see the tradition of pairs of singing bowls in Japan. In meditation practice, a larger, deeper bowl is used to start meditation and a smaller, higher pitched bowl is used to end meditation. Were the Himalayan style bowls also used as pairs? It would seem so because I have found a small number of amazing pairs. The few pairs I have found are such good matches, they seem too perfect to be coincidence. The best of these is SET02, a matched pair made in the highest quality, with the same complex engravings and both tuned to the same E tone. They are so perfectly matched, I consider it enough of a historical clue to say, yes - at lease some Himalayan bowls were made as pairs.
I have also found certain types of bowls in incremental sizes indicating they were made as part of a larger set. These sets are today difficult to recreate because the collections are not intact and the bowls have been widely scattered. Even though there are only some thousands of antiques, it is difficult to recreate a set of several bowls that have been separated by time and place. Such sets can be recombined through my website by matching similar bowls, although there is no telling if it is an original set.
Even if a combination is not an original set, I recommend combining similar types of bowls because it usually makes a better sounding set. A set of the same type, in graduated sizes is generally the best. That is if you want something that sounds the most homogenous. Many people prefer the opposite and want many different types of bowls. You can combine many different types, sizes and thicknesses to get a great variety of tonal qualities. A collection of bowls does not need to be a set. Most people collect individual bowls that speak to them, whether they sound good together or not. You may not even want more than one bowl, which is also perfectly fine. As long as you like the sound, that is all that matters.
If you do combine bowls, I do encourage you to look for that special cosmic hum. It is really the best part of the singing bowls in my opinion. For professional sound healers, musicians and anyone who wants a very cohesive set, listen carefully to get the most harmonious sound possible. You have to listen to all the harmonic overtones and hear how they interact. A very harmonious set is very achievable with my large collection.
For anyone who wants to experience all the variety of the different types of bowls, you can also build a unique collection from the various types. Some people want to have one of every type. Or if you want just one special bowl and have no interest in collecting, you can find that special piece here, too.
Whichever way you like to combine the bowls, they always work well individually and in groups. They provide so much joy individually and are even more delightful in numbers. Please listen for yourself and enjoy the sounds!
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