Singing bowl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Singing bowls (also known as 'Himalayan bowls' or 'rin gongs' in Japan) are type of musical instrument 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 the bell vibrate to produce sound. Singing bowls were traditionally used throughout Asia as part of Buddhist, Bön and shamanic meditation practice. Today they are used worldwide for meditation, relaxation, healthcare and religious practice.
Singing bowls were historically made in Tibet, Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, Japan and Korea. Today they are made in Nepal, India, Japan and Korea. The most common type are from the Himalayan region.
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[edit] Origins, history and usage
In Buddhist practice, singing bowls are used as a support for meditation and prayer. For example, in Chinese Buddhists use the singing bowl to accompany the wooden fish during chanting, striking it when a particular phrase in a sutra 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 stories. Some people say singing bowls were not used in Tibet while others say they were extremely widespread. Some say they were simply 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 (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 since as early as the 8th-10th century BCE (Feinstein, 2006).
Singing bowls are played by striking with a soft mallet to produce a warm bell tone and (in the case of genuine antiques) harmonic overtones. They may also be 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.
Antique singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time. They are widely used as an aid to meditation (see the "Meditation and the brain" section in Meditation). They are also used in yoga, music therapy, sound healing, religious services, performance and for personal enjoyment.
[edit] Antique singing bowls
Antique singing bowls were made of bronze, an alloy of copper, tin and other metals. Antiques often include silver, gold, zinc, iron and nickel. Antique singing bowls produce multiphonic and polyharmonic overtones which are unique to the antique instruments. The subtle yet complex multiple harmonic frequencies are a special quality of the high quality polymetallic alloy. The art of making singing bowls in the traditional manner is considered a lost art.
Antique singing bowls may display abstract decorations like lines, rings and circles etched 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 never have figurative decoration like Buddhas, mandalas, or dragons. Such decorations are only found on new singing bowls.
Antique singing bowls are highly prized and collected worldwide. Their popularity is due to their fine craftsmanship and remarkable sound. Genuine antiques are rare and available from only a few sources. Fake antiques are plentiful and cheap, so shoppers should be cautious.
[edit] New singing bowls
Many new singing bowls are made to look antique and are often sold as 'old,' 'antique' or 'vintage.' Most bowls on the market are new, even if they are advertised as 'old.' New singing bowls lack the warmth and complexity of tone found in the fine antiques.
New bowls may be plain or decorated. They sometimes feature religious iconography and spiritual motifs and symbols, like the Tibetan mantra om mani padme hum, pictures of Buddhas, mandala, etc.
New singing bowls are made from industrial quality metal, mainly copper. They are exported widely from Nepal and India.
Excellent quality new singing bowls are made in Japan and Korea but are not widely exported.
New singing bowls and crystal bowls do not produce the warm and complex tone of fine antiques. They sound like clear and simple bells, without the warm undertones and bright harmonic overtones for which antiques are famous.
[edit] Crystal singing bowls
Crystal bowls are often categorized together with metal singing bowls but they are very different. The use of the word "crystal" is misleading because crystal bowls are actually made from silicone glass. Their manufacture was an offshoot of medical containers like test tubes. Crystal bowls produce what is referred to as a pure sine tone (refer pure tone). This pure sine tone can be very intense and piercing. The tone is qualitatively different from the warm timbre and complex polyphonic experience of antique singing bowls. Crystal bowls do not produce multiple harmonic overtones and lack the warm and mellow quality of antique singing bowls.
[edit] References
- Jansen, Eva Rudy (1992). Singing bowls: a practical handbook of instruction and use. Holland: Binkey Kok Publications. (Refer partial scanning of book on following metalinkage (accessed: 1 December 2006).: http://books.google.com.au/books?vid=ISBN9074597017&id=uY0x3fqbvxwC&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&ots=x0cd_6rrrs&dq=singing+bowls+books&sig=_C7Fn_0ndUl5kFqfxZ1qQ3k3Puo#PPP1,M1
- Müller-Ebeling, Claudia and Christian Rätsch and Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2002). Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. Transl. by Annabel Lee. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions.
- Perry, Frank (1996). The Singing Bowls Of Tibet. Source: http://www.frankperry.co.uk/Tibetan%20Bowls.htm (accessed: Thursday February 1, 20076)
- Feinstein, Joseph (2006). Assessing Antique Singing Bowls. http://www.himalayanbowls.com/info.htm?pageName=antiques
