#1 What are metal singing bowls made of?
Metal singing bowls are made from bronze. It is also called bell metal, or bell bronze. It is a combination of copper and tin, specific to creating a high level of resonance. Not all metals resonate well, and bell metal does. There are sort of mythical stories of metal bowls being made with 7 precious metals, but we’ve been told by different experts that these are just stories used to market bowls, and don’t actually mean the bowls are made with anything other than bell metal.
#2) Are our metal singing bowls high quality?
Our Himalayan singing bowls have been hand selected from many small makers into a large collection, which is slowly being imported to us over time. This collection has hand-made bowls specifically chosen for their ability to ring well, and sing. Beyond this collection, we have partnered with Zen Singing Bowls, offering many types of their singing bowls. They are the only fair-trade manufacturer of metal singing bowls in the world. They run their own factory in India, offering their employees livable wages and supporting community projects. Their singing bowls are specifically designed for different purposes, such as their Therapeutic line of singing bowls, which is the only line of singing bowls in the world specifically made for body work.
#3) What is a high quality metal singing bowl?
As stated in the point above, we care about the sourcing of our metal singing bowls. Though, in truth, we believe a quality metal singing bowl depends on the tonal quality you are looking for, and how you want to use it. If the bowl is right for your practice, and it is helping people, it is a quality metal singing bowl.
#4) Do metal singing bowls sing around the rim?
Yes. Metal singing bowls sing around the rim. A quartz crystal silicon striker is the best tool to do this. However, metal singing bowls do not sing around the rim well. They get “overexcited” very easily, with too much vibration, and distort; they also do not keep harmonic tones when sung around the rim, and typically result in some sort of dissonance. After playing so many metal singing bowls, from many different companies, shapes and sizes, it is safe to say that metal singing bowls are instruments that are best rung, instead of sung.