Singing bowl

Singing bowls (also known as 'Himalayan bowls' or 'rin' or suzu gongs in Japan) are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, standing bells sit with the bottom surface resting. The sides and rim of singing bowls vibrate to produce sound. Singing bowls were traditionally used throughout Asia as part of Bön and Tantric Buddhist sadhana. Today they are employed worldwide both within and without these spiritual traditions, for meditation, relaxation, healthcare, personal well-being and religious practice.

Singing bowls were historically made in Tibet, Nepal, India [http://www.fairtrade.dk/sw4231.asp da icon Fremstilling af syngeskåle og cymbler] ] , Bhutan, China, Japan and Korea. Today they are made in Nepal, India, Japan and Korea. The best known type are from the Himalayan region and are often called "Tibetan singing bowls."

Origins, history and usage

In Buddhist practice, singing bowls are used as a support for meditation, trance induction and prayer. For example, Chinese Buddhists use the singing bowl to accompany the wooden fish during chanting, striking it when a particular phrase in a sutra, mantra or hymn is sung. In Japan and Vietnam, singing bowls are similarly used during chanting and may also mark the passage of time or signal a change in activity.

The use of singing bowls in Tibet is the subject of much debate and many stories. Some people say they were used for meditation while others say they were magical tools for transformation of self and of matter.

As Perry (1996) and Jansen (1992) state, little is known in western scholarship regarding Himalayan singing bowls. It is likely they were used in rituals, having a specific function like other instruments (such as the ghanta, tingsha and shang). The oral and written traditions from the Himalayan region are vast and largely unknown in the west. To date, no specific texts have been found discussing the use of singing bowls in depth, but according to Joseph Feinstein of Himalayan Bowls (2006), paintings and statues dating from several centuries ago depict singing bowls in detail. Singing bowls from at least the 10th-12th century are found in private collections. The tradition may date significantly earlier since bronze has been used to construct musical instruments since ancient times. Bronze bells from Asia have been discovered as early as the 8th-10th century BCE (Feinstein, 2006).

Singing bowls are played by the friction of rubbing a wooden, plastic, or leather wrapped mallet around the rim of the bowl to produce overtones and a continuous 'singing' sound. Audio|SingingBowl2.ogg|Audio Sample High quality singing bowls produce a complex chord of harmonic overtones. Singing bowls may also be played by striking with a soft mallet to produce a warm bell tone. Audio|SingingBowl1.ogg|Audio Sample

Singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time. The overtones are a result of using an alloy consisting of multiple metals, each producing its own overtone. New bowls can also produce multiple harmonic overtones if they are high quality bronze, but many are are made from a simpler alloy and produce only a principal tone and one harmonic overtone.

While it is generally believed that the traditional manufacturing techniques are lost, there are new hand-hammered bowls being produced in the centuries old tradition. The difference is the quality of the alloy and the aging process itself. The tone improves as they age, so new bowls cannot sound as warm and mellow as a real antique. (Feinstein, 2008)

Both Antique and New Bowls are widely used as an aid to meditation (see the "Meditation and the brain" section in Meditation) and as a tool for trance induction. They are also used in yoga, music therapy, sound healing, religious services, performance and for personal enjoyment.

Antique singing bowls

Traditionally, antique singing bowls were made of Panchaloha (literally meaning "five metals" in Sanskrit): a bronze alloy of copper, tin, zinc and iron and other metals. Antiques often include silver, gold and nickel.

Antique singing bowls produce multiphonic and polyharmonic overtones which are unique to the instruments. The subtle yet complex multiple harmonic frequencies are a special quality of the high quality bronze alloy. The art of making singing bowls in the traditional way is often called a lost art, but traditional craftsmen do still make singing bowls in the traditional manner in hidden corners of Nepal.

Antique singing bowls may display abstract decorations like lines, rings and circles engraved into the surface. Decoration may appear outside the rim, inside the bottom, around the top of the rim and sometimes on the outside bottom.

Antique singing bowls are highly prized and collected worldwide. Their popularity is due to their fine craftsmanship and remarkable sound. The aging process greatly improves the tone and centuries old antiques produce an incredibly rich and beautiful sound.

New singing bowls

Singing bowls are manufactured today and every year the quality improves. New bowls may be plain or decorated. They sometimes feature religious iconography and spiritual motifs and symbols, such as the Tibetan mantra "Om mani padme hum," images of Buddhas, and Ashtamangala.

New singing bowls are made from bronze just as the antiques were. However, the bronze alloy is not as special and does not contain gold and silver as some of the antiques. New singing bowls are exported from Nepal and India. The best hand made examples are made in Nepal. High quality new singing bowls are made in Japan and Korea but are not widely exported.

Hand made new singing bowls produce multiple harmonic overtones and sound much like the antiques. They lack the warmth and mellowness that develops with centuries of use. Hand made bowls do capture the complex and musical quality of the antiques.

Machine made bowls produce only two harmonic overtones: the principal tone (1st harmonic) and an overtone of a perfect 5th (2nd harmonic). The more perfect pitch, due to the uniform manufacturing process, sounds nice but much less interesting to most listeners.

See also

* Brainwave synchronization
* Gong
* Harmonic series (music)
* Sound symbolism
* Tulpa

Notes

References

* Jansen, Eva Rudy (1992). "Singing bowls: a practical handbook of instruction and use". Holland: Binkey Kok Publications. ISBN 9074597017
* Müller-Ebeling, Claudia, Christian Rätsch, Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2002). "Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas". Trans. by Annabel Lee. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions.
* Perry, Frank (1996). "The Singing Bowls Of Tibet" (Audio CD).
* Feinstein, Joseph (2006). [http://www.himalayanbowls.com/info.htm?pageName=antiques Assessing Antique Singing Bowls]
* Pillai, R.M., S.G.K. Pillai, A.D. Damodaran. [http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0210/Pillai-0210.html The Lost-Wax Casting of Icons, Utensils, Bells, and Other Items in South India] in "JOM", October 2002.