I am often asked the question: “How do I know what frequency my singing bowl is”? Well, actually a Tibetan Singing bowl produces several frequencies. Most bowls (but not all of them) are tuned to a flatted fifth, also known as a Tritone. So, the “struck tone” of a singing bowl is a contradiction in terms, because when struck, a singing bowl produces a chord, or interval.
The predominant tones we hear in singing bowls are a flatted Fifth interval, also known as the Tritone. This interval was referred to as “the Devil’s Chord” and was banned by the Catholic Church, although it is said some Catholic composers used it in connection with evil, ie. the crucifixion. But the graduated diameters of singing bowls produce layers of rich additional overtones, which, when heard binaurally, create beat frequency which alters our brain waves from a Beta brainwave state to an Alpha state, and in some instances, to Theta. Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, founder of the Center of Neuroacoustic Research wrote an amazing white paper on the effects of binaural beats on brainwaves entitled “Acoustic Brainwave Entrainment with Binaural Beats” which is a great resource to learn more on the physics of brainwave entrainment.
So unlike Crystal singing bowls, which are almost pure sine wave with a 3rd interval harmonic, Tibetan singing bowls are rich in layered frequencies. The lower tone of the bowl (the fundamental) is produced by rubbing a leather mallet around the outside wall of the bowl; the female overtone (the bowl’s highest voice) bowl is produced by pressing the wooden part of the mallet along the outside edge of the bowl’s lip. There is usually also a mid-tone present in medium size to large bowls, with multiple frequencies in between. This tone will usually come up when you begin to play a medium sized bowl around the lip, and then after the bowl is warmed up it will resolve to the female overtone and jump an octave. With some high-wall (“Jambati”) type singing bowls, you can often isolate this tone with a leather mallet.
To meter each frequency, first of all, we have to isolate it. We usually use a Boss guitar tuner, unless someone wants to know the exact Hertz of a bowl, in which case we’ll use Peterson software on a computer or iphone. The more sophisticated software will home in on the bowl’s broad waveform and list it. If you’re using a more primitive guitar tuner, you’ll have to get a clean, isolated tone first, let it peak, and then start to decay before the tone will even out enough for the tuner to lock in and measure it. But remember: every singing bowl frequency is still a moving target. Any measurement we take is only a snapshot of a moving wave form.
The frequencies you see marked on each singing bowl in Bodhisattva’s web store are measured by the whole or half tone, plus the number of Hertz (in multiples of two) either flat (marked by a minus -) or sharp (marked by a plus +) of the note. If the frequency is concert pitch, we list the first 3 digits of the frequency’s Hertz value. So a middle C would be marked C 261 Hz., for example. If it were 2 Hz. sharp, it would be listed as a C +2 Hz., and so on.
Each whole tone is divided into a half tone (a sharp) and two quartertones (we don’t use these in Western music for the most part). So you might see some of our sets built on quartertones: a whole note plus, or minus 10 Hz. Here’s another trick to watch out for on our site: a sharp + 10 is the same thing as the next whole tone up minus 10 Hz. Here’s what it looks like: A# +10 = B -10 Hz. These notations are exactly the same tone, but they are used differently depending on what scale they’re in.
The frequencies produced by the bowl are determined by the bowl’s diameter, shape and density of its metal. All three of these factors affect each other. Generally speaking, the larger the bowl’s diameter the deeper sounding the bowl. But the density of the metal counts, too: the thicker the bowl, the higher the pitch.
Dr. Jeff Thompson once observed that the graduated diameters of the bowl actually produce a singing bowls’ harmonics. That explains why the slope of the bowls wall can affect how many harmonics there are in a bowl. For example, smaller Cup bowls which are 4 – 5″ diameter will only have two distinct harmonics. “Thadobati” type singing bowls usually have three: the fundamental, the female overtone, and a mid-tone. A High-wall, Low-wall-Thick-lip, or a Lotus type singing bowl with a broad slope at its base will have many more audible harmonics, and starts to sound more gong-like in timbre, as opposed to bell-like.
Because the ancient ones were handmade, then, their construction varied slightly with each and every bowl. Their intervals are like voice patterns; no one voice is exactly the same. So the pitches of the bowls were determined at the time they were made, and cannot be altered unless you subtract metal from the bowl (by sanding the basin of the bowl, for example). Ancient bowl makers also altered the bowls’ frequencies by creating “hatch marks” in the sides of the walls.
Knowing the frequencies of your bowl is really helpful if you want to add bowls to your collection, if you’re playing bowls with Western instruments, or if you want to find out what Chakra your bowl resonates with. But that’s the extent of its usefulness. Do you think the monks at Drepung Loseling Monastery cared which frequencies they were playing? So once you know the frequencies of your bowl, just let it go! Thank your left brain for retaining that information and get back the business of becoming one with the sound.
This is a stupendous manuscript, Thank You Shakti!
An engineer like myself wants to know the nuts and bolts of a subject sometimes almost to the point of exasperation by others about him, just ask my lovely spouse.
I don’t know if knowing this would have influenced my bowl purchasing pattern or not. I bought what I liked and am enjoying them to the fullest. However I now have more insight and appreciation of your business.
An aside here: I looked at and played many crystal bowls and found them to not be anywhere nearly as exciting as your metal bowls, this explains why. There are only bowls from your business in my collection, every one and/or set is treasured.
One is used to start our Sunday services and one or a set is used during an occasional meditation group meeting. This has been done for the last three years and now it seems as if something is missing should that important part be skipped for some reason or another.
I will go to the university library in an attempt to obtain the white paper you mention, thank you again.
Thanks, Tommy! Nice to hear from you and I’m glad you are enjoying your bowls!
Thanks Shakti!! I have taken many rides on Alpha & Theta waves produced by Tibetan Singing Bowls – It is an amazing journey that everyone should try! Namaste.
Thanks for your comment, Lisa! Please let us know as far in advance as possible of your dates in LA so we can nail down a venue. Blessings and love – Shakti
I was sent a gift of a singing bowl…..the sound is so beautiful. my 2 wee dogs like listening to is, too
there are posts going around on facebook about 432 hz frequency, and one in particular says tibetan chanting is done at that frequency. I am sceptical…Do you have any information on this?
when you say “…a middle C would be marked C 321 Hz., for example.” Did you just use that as an example of giving a frequency a letter, like C, or were you saying that Middle C is 321Hz? (which it isn’t), its 261.626 at A=440 Anyway, just doing research on what Tibetans happened to tune their bowls to, I’ve heard/read that it was around A=432, which would make sense and in many cases, on your website, you are saying standard A=440 tunings with the Hz flat or sharp +/- 8Hz which would be 432 tuning, so it seems that there is some accuracy to the 432 tuning.
I appreciate the comment, Jonathan – typo corrected. As you can tell, I don’t read comments too often! If there’s credible research that indicates Tibetan monks tuned their bowls to any specific frequency – I would be interested to know where you found that info. And would it be 432 Hz.
on the rim or the fundamental? It would have to be a really large bowl to have a rim tone of 432, and a really small one to have a fundamental of 432. I just haven’t seen any evidence that frequencies were the point. In the interview with Lama Lobsong Leshe we post on our site, he indicated that the bowls were used for teaching emptiness, the central tenet of Buddhist philosophy. Their focus was the Dharma and meditation – bowls were a means to an end for them. Would be really interested in credible evidence stating otherwise.
hi, new to this forum, and loving it! thank you!
about bowls and frequencies. what i have been taught to understand, the Tibetan bowls only found their way into Buddhism later on. at first they were made by shamans who used them for healing and spiritual transformations. it is an art that is thought to be lost. and monks probably used them at first for food as they still do today, and found other uses for them later on….so when it comes to frequencies i believe (and also experience) that there is a lot to working with the actual frequencies of the bowls. they have profound effect depending on the tone and the intention given. and im sure that ancient wisdom also know this both scientifically and inherently. i have no doubt that the bowls were designed and used with a deep understanding of these things. . . searching to find out more….love D
Hi Anna,
Thank you for reading and I’m sorry for the long delay in responding. You raise an interesting question. It is an ancient practice for monks to have a begging bowl, from which they ate. And, singing bowl manufacturers today routinely make bronze plates and bowls for traditional Nepali and Tibetan households to use. But it is important not to conflate these two customs.
The idea that monks used singing bowls to eat from – either in ancient times or now, doesn’t really make sense. Although Lama Lobsang Leshe confirms singing bowls were used as begging bowls in ancient times, it’s never made sense to me. A singing bowl requires a level of artistic craftsmanship in its manufacture in order to be able to sing. So why would their manufacturers take the time to do that if the only function was a dinnerware? That’s not to say we don’t occasionally find the patina pattern of burned rice in singing bowls. We do: but very infrequently. You would think if this were a widespread practice, there would be burned rice marks in most of them; or at least some of them. Truthfully, we’ve only found a handful of singing bowls after 21 + years of importing tens of thousands of them.
According to Tibetan oral tradition, as related by Rain Gray in an interview with an old Gelukpa monk in Kathmandu in 1986, the use of singing bowls dates back to the last incarnation of the Buddha, coming from India (https://www.bodhisattva.com/singing_bowl_history.htm). All of Asia had some kind of bell tradition. Frank Perry has an excellent history of of bell bowl making in Asia in his book Himalayan Sound Revelations. Lots of different perspectives on this.
Really appreciate you sharing this post.Thanks Again. Really Great. kagbfededdgdkddd
Wonderful. agree. I used a waveform measuring software (specturm analyzer) and can easily see 3 frequencies in most of my (low pitch) tibetan singing bowls. contact me if you would like to understand how i measure it. I love the article and agree that in the end it is the “feel” and not exact Hz !
Wonderful info, thank you!!
Thanks for that article!
If I understand well tibetan bowl were never tuned to standard western notes? (That’s what I thought but a seller tried to convince me of that…)