Singing Bowls For Beginners: Which Singing Bowl Should I Buy?
Singing bowls are a musical instrument, though a bit less complicated than a violin, guitar, or drums.
The best thing is -- everyone can play it!
If you’re a beginner, a heavy metallic bowl with its wooden mallet and soft cushion might seem intimidating. So, which singing bowl should a beginner buy?
Comparing the materials, sounds, types, sizes, weights, quality, age, functionality, making, chakra, and origin of different singing bowls makes it easy to pick the right bowl.
Small metal singing bowls are best for beginners. They cost between $50 to $120.
Read on, to learn about the tips on how to choose your very first singing bowl.
Basics For Beginners: What Are Singing Bowls? How Do They Work?
When you’re starting with singing bowls, it’s good to know how they work. The Tibetan singing bowl is an acoustic instrument played with a mallet by striking, rimming, or mixing both.
Historically, a singing bowl was made from seven noble metals. Still, today they may be made of one or two metals for better acoustics.
Singing bowls made today are great for meditation, prayer, and reiki. They improve concentration, alertness, and focus by triggering alpha brain wave states. That’s why the sound of a singing bowl is calming.
Each singing bowl is associated with a specific chakra from the seven-chakra system. One chakra may help you be creative, another inspires, and yet another will leads you to success.
How To Choose The Right Singing Bowl For You? 10 Simple Ways To Pick
Picking a singing bowl might seem daunting, there are so many options in the world. We understand this, and have your back on simplifying the selection process. Whether you’re shopping in-store or online, we'll share ten simple ways to choose the best singing bowls for beginners so you can pick one right way.
By Their Material: Crystal Vs. Metal
First, there are two types of singing bowls- metal and crystal.
Metal singing bowls are made from gold, silver, iron, tin, copper, lead, and mercury. Besides, they have a vast and fascinating history of 6,000 years.
On the other hand, crystal singing bowls are made by heating crushed clear quartz at high temperatures. They were only invented recently, towards the 90s.
Both are excellent singing bowls, whether you go by resonance or their healing sound waves. That said, metal singing bowls are a better buy for beginners due to their durability, cost, and ease of playing.
Here’s more on crystal vs. metal singing bowls to read on.
By Size and Weight: Light Vs. Heavy
While singing bowls are heavier than food or storage bowls, crystal singing bowls are generally heavier than their metal counterparts, due to their average size being much larger.
When it comes to singing bowls for beginners, metal singing bowls of small sizes are a good place to start. As a side note, the bowl’s size and weight also affect its resonance.
That’s why a set like the big and the little singing bowls is a good buy for beginners.
Making: Handmade, Antique, or Mass-Produced
Today you can get antique singing bowls from centuries ago for hundreds of thousands of dollars and cheap and poor-sounding sound bowls.
The middle ground is the handmade bowl crafted in the same old way by artisans from the Himalayan region. The good news is, they’re best for beginners too!
PS: All the singing bowls on Ohm Store are made in Nepal by experienced artisans.
By Use: Aesthetic, Healing, Meditation, Reiki, or Chakra Healing
Depending on what you want to use the singing bowl for, you can pick one that suits your needs.
For instance, lingam bowls and yoni singing bowls were used in ritual offerings. Thadobati bowls were usually used for prayer.
Our Buddha bowl works well for chanting and aesthetics, especially if you’re a beginner.
But a bowl like the Tree of Life singing bowl is great for meditation. Engravings on this bowl look great no matter where you place the bowl at your home.
If you’re a healer or Reiki practitioner new to this, it’s best to get large bowls like our Jupiter bowl.
For Self Vs. Gift
Picking the right singing bowl based on its recipient is a good way to narrow down your choices.
For instance, buying a sound bowl for yourself translates to deciding based on the budget, space, playing space, playing time, and even other bowls you already have.
If you’re buying for yourself, a single bowl like the Original Ohm might be the one.
On the flip side, when you’re buying it as a gift for a beginner, it’s good to pick a gift set (The Truth Ohm Journal Set), a set of bowls (The Big and the Little), or one that’s ornate (The Inner Space Bowl).
Origin: Nepal Vs. India Vs. Tibet
Genuine handmade singing bowls originate from the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India, and Tibet. You’ll find handmade singing bowls from Nepal and India in Ohm Store. That said, there are many fake Tibetan bowls offline or online.
So, always check the origin of the bowl from the manufacturer you’re buying from.
If you want to know why we sell handmade singing bowls by Nepalese artisans, check out our backstory here.
Cost: Average Vs. Pricey
Now comes the biggest question- what’s your budget?
If you’re looking for a small yet good bowl, keep aside $40 to $120.
Medium bowls may cost up to $500, but there are medium bowls that cost even more.
Large-sized bowls may cost $500 to $1,000 and over.
Here’s our Ancient Self Ohm Bowl for those looking for a good small bowl. Go for the Jupiter bowl if you love a large sound bowl to begin your journey!
All that said, ridiculously large or expensive bowls aren’t good for beginners until after a few months of practice.
Chakra By The Seven Notes
Do you know singing bowls have chakras much like crystals? For this very reason, many experienced users have seven chakra singing bowls for chakra healing techniques and rituals.
The chakra of a singing bowl is identified based on its musical notes. Although notes on a singing bowl aren’t hard and fast as on a guitar, they can flush out negativity from our chakras.
Learn more about singing bowls by their chakra connections in this article.
Based on Type
There are small, medium, and large singing bowls besides ancient types of singing bowls based on their shape, depth, rim, bottom, etcetera.
For instance, Thadobati bowls are the most-economical bowls, with diameters ranging from 4 to 9 inches and heights of up to 4 inches.
Naga bowls are petite and lightweight, with diameters as low as 2 inches. Lingam bowls protrude at their bottom from the inside, and yoni bowls have wider mouths.
Read more about the nine types of singing bowls to pick a good one for you.
Based on Sound and Resonance
Last but far from least, the sound and resonance of a singing bowl are key to picking one.
Some people despise loud singing bowls because of their deafening effects, while others adore them for that.
Every bowl has a specific sound. Don’t worry if you aren’t musically trained because you can pick a bowl by how it sounds.
On the Ohm Store, every singing bowl is accompanied by an audio track recording the sound it makes. So pick your singing bowl after hearing them instead of blindly buying any.
Check out the sound clips of this Buddha Bowl to hear the difference right away.
Get Your Singing Bowl And Add Meditation To Your Routine!
Singing bowls are acoustic instruments that relax and empower your mind, body, and spirit.
Before finalizing a bowl, beginners must look at the cost, material, size, weight, origin, chakra, type, and sound.
Playing a singing bowl is also quite easy with the mallet and cushion you receive with the bowl. We learned how to strike, rim, or meditate in the article on ways to use singing bowls.
Remember to strike gently because even metal singing bowls can develop hairline cracks when hit with strong force.
As beginners don’t need antique bowls or exceptional sounds like a collector or pro, you can get a small to medium-sized bowl or a set for $100 to $150. Beginners will find most small bowls great. They’re lightweight, portable, and easy to work with.
Here’s a bonus tip- you can add water to your bowl and do water charging to mute its sounds! Read more about water-charging singing bowls for meditation.
Read this article to know the best times to use singing bowls.
Perhaps you already have a favorite Tibetan singing Bowl on Ohm Store you want to buy. Add it to your morning regimen to start the day on your best foot!
