When I reflect on singing bowls, I realize I have a strong connection with them since the first time I heard them from a friend of my aunt’s about a few decades ago. At that moment, there was such peace and quiet in my mind for the first time in my life that I felt wisdom like a grown-up while still being a child.❤️
I asked auntie what it was doing to me, and her friend took a huge singing bowl and poured water in it to show me how the water jumped inside the bowl. She said the sounds can make the water move in my body too and that’s why I was feeling what I was feeling.
She even made me stand in an even bigger bowl and rang it with gentle taps. The bowl emitted vibrations that went through my whole body from toe to head and I felt like I was floating on the clouds somewhere above castles.
Since then, I personally know singing bowls are divine forms of acoustic healing. If you dig up, you’ll find it’s a Tibetan ritual instrument made of seven different sacred metals that can create sounds at frequencies capable of affecting the mind, body, and spirit. It can cleanse vibrations just like the moonlight or the sunlight. Today, the same acoustics can be made with brass bowls too. You play it using a wooden mallet that may or may not be covered with leather.
Read more about the detailed guide on singing bowls I wrote here to understand all about it. Because in this article I’ll show you the benchmark to compared different Tibetan singing bowls. It’s great before getting one or comparing the one you’ve got.
✅I will be reviewing 6 different singing bowls from the popular options on Amazon based on their appearance, durability, materials, singing ability, tonal qualities, cost, effects, and best crystals to charge.
Here’s a rough look at each singing bowl with a summary of their key traits I will discuss in this case study ahead:📝
Antique Light Brown Bowl - Silent Mind Store | Meditation Singing Bowl Set - Ohm Store | Singing Bowl and Herbs Kit - Tomoko | Tibetan Bowl with Seven Chakra Stones - HEALING WAVES | Tibetan Singing Bowls - Set of Two | Authentic Handmade Singing Bowl Set - Himalayan Bazaar |
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Size (in.) | 4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.15 & 4 | 4 |
Weight (oz.) | 13 | 10.2 | 4 | 19.2 | 28.96 | 20.48 |
Best Features |
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Origin | Nepal | Nepal | U.S. | Nepal | Nepal | Nepal |
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What’s bad about it? | Does not come with an anti-dampening pillow. | Looks like a machine-made piece. | The striker is light and doesn’t play easily. | Not a huge bowl, but weighs heavy. | Only one mallet, but two differently-sized bowls. | No hand-hammering as it’s sold as a spun piece without any machine-hammering. |
Take a look at how I’ll rank the best Tibetan singing bowl in this article today.
Let’s get started!
Tibetan singing bowls were originally made from seven sacred metals but today, you’ll find them in entirely bronze, brass, and other combinations of the seven sacred metals. These are called standing bells and rubbing on the rim of such a bowl with an appropriate striker causes excitation that leads to vibration, which results in sounds.
So, which Tibetan singing bowl is right for you? Here’s a well-planned checklist to decide whether the singing bowl is right for you:📑
Based on whether the bowl is made by an artisan, a monk, or a machine, the quality can differ. While machine-made bowls come with perfection, hand-beaten bowls are tuned better in my personal experience.
Call me sentimental, but all that love of the human craftsman and traditional knowledge does weigh more than machines if you ask me. One way to recognize handmade bowls is that they would be costlier than mass-produced ones.
Depending on the type of material the singing bowl is made from, the cost can also go high or low. While gold, silver, or the combination of the seven sacred metals yield an expensive bowl, brass is the most commonly preferred one today.
There are Tibetan singing bowls in diameters ranging from 3.15 inches to 21 inches nowadays. The small bowls are perfect for handheld uses and the large ones are standing bowls where the person stands inside to experience the vibrations ring from toe to head.
For starters, small bowls are less than 5 inches, medium bowls are between 6 to 8 inches, and anything higher comes under the section of large singing bowls.
Mallet or striker for Tibetan singing bowls is made from wood with a leather or rubber coating. It’s typically made with respect to the size of the bowl. For example, small mallets can’t play huge singing bowls.
You need non-dampening cushions that can hold the bowl still while you play it. Typically, sewn cushions with respect to the bowl size are provided when you buy the bowl. Make sure it can hold the bowl without any movements and stay in good condition while in storage.😊
When you strike the singing bowl, how does it sing? This has to do more with the tone of the bowl. Does the acoustics relax or agitate you? As you might know already, different bowls sing at different notes. If you can, it’s good to hear the sound of the bowl before your buy it or check out reviews that share the sound of the bowl.
The general idea is to create harmony and resonance where one bowl creates a harmonious tone and the other a resonant tone. So, a good start will be with a medium-sized singing and a small one or a combination of a medium one and a large one.
Do you know you can get singing bowls for different purposes? From healing chakras to aura cleansing, everything is possible with singing bowls. Beginners can start with 3 to 6-inch bowls and anything higher gets you serious with the healing frequencies.
While you’ve to use multiple small bowls for getting to healing, a medium-sized bowl of 7 to 8 inches can cleanse your aura, charge your chakra and even cleanse the space you’re in. Bowls bigger than 10 inches are largely used by healers.
Most small bowls are good for higher chakras. Take a look at this table to find out the right size of singing bowl for chakra healing.
Singing bowls are easy to play; you just have to tap it with the striker or gently keep on rubbing the rim of the bowl. It’s an ancient form of healing sound that can be used for concentration, stress relief, and even chakra or crystal healing.
I handpicked 6 singing bowls that are popular in 2021 so that you can compare them with me and pick the best that fits within your preferences after considering their downsides. As a disclaimer, these reviews are completely unbiased.
The perfect singing bowl for beginners and pros, the best thing about this antique-looking Tibetan bowl is that it’s easy-peasy to play. It’s so popular with over 10,000 reviews and with an average rating of 4.6.
Why do we like it?
We love it for the etched mantra saying "Om Mani Padme Hum", which is a prayer chanted to the Buddha of Compassion representing "harmony of spiritual awakening". I personally love the hand-sewn pillow and the dual-sided mallet because they stay put and are great for decorating the altar too.😊 I also appreciate the good resonance it has for the four inches diameter.
How does it sound?
Play this audio file to hear the sound of this singing bowl.
What’s the best thing about it?
The size of the bowl is perfect for beginners as it fits in the palm of most hands, big and small. You’ll also find it fun to play the bowl with the dual-sided striker. Getting started is the easiest I’ve seen with singing bowls.
What’s the worst thing about it?
Besides being small, the pillow looks good but doesn’t provide as much dampening protection as it should. If you live in a humid place, make sure to keep the pillow in a dry place.
Ideal for those who’re new to Tibetan singing bowls or reiki with singing bowls, this is a cute bowl for self-healing rituals. It’s easy to play with and great to pair with a small bowl. This sacred bowl has a score of 4.6 from over 2,900 reviews.
Why do we like it?
This is a tuned singing bowl that looks appealing and aptly sized for the palm. While the mallet isn’t dual-sided, the bowl sings beautifully with average resonance. We love the lifetime guarantee that the seller offers on top of excellent durability.
How does it sound?
Play this audio file to hear the sound of this singing bowl.
What’s the best thing about it?
The size of the bowl and its simple artisanship are appealing for spiritual rituals and decor. The felt cushion that comes with it is of a comfortable size to hold the bowl. I personally feel it’s a good traditional bowl for beginners to start their journey into singing bowls.
What’s the worst thing about it?
While the hand-hammered patterns do look machine-made, it’s a good buy if you want an authentic Nepalese singing bowl of small size.
A cute little singing bowl that comes with the complete started kit for spiritual rituals,😋 this is a finely designed bowl that’s easy to carry around. The bowl set rates 4.6 over 2,900 reviews.
Why do we like it?
This is a portable singing bowl that’s sustainably sourced from the U.S. You can fit it in a bag and take it wherever you go. I’ve seen practitioners use this bowl for awakening higher chakras during reiki sessions.
How does it sound?
Play this audio file to hear the sound of this singing bowl.
What’s the best thing about it?
This singing bowl set comes with two bunches of sage and three blocks of palo santo wood. These are great for starting your meditation session before playing the bowl. I personally feel the bowl is flawless and as amazing as the sacred herbs that come with it.
What’s the worst thing about it?
The striker is light and doesn’t play easily because it isn’t wrapped with leather or rubber. But a little practice is all you need to get the healing frequencies started!
If you’re a crystal lover, the main thing you’re looking for is a singing bowl for charging and cleansing crystals. It’s a 4-inch bowl that comes with tumbled stones (sized between 0.5 to 1.5 inches each). It’s a great choice owing to its 4.7 stars rating and over 1,400 reviews.
Why do we like it?
This is the perfect bowl for meditation and it comes with a dual-sided striker you can experiment playing different sounds with. The etched alphabets saying Om Mani Padme Hum on the bowl make it excellent as an aesthetic addition to your room decor too.
What’s the best thing about it?
We love the concept of giving several ring pillows because it’s great for a regular user and even more so when you’re using it for rituals such as cleansing or charging crystals.🥳 Trust me, the freebies make it all worth trying out.
What’s the worst thing about it?
It’s a small bowl but feels as heavy as a medium-sized bowl. Hence, it’s not so portable as you would assume from the pictures. But if you're as keen as mustard, you can carry it like a breeze in a tote bag.
Do you feel you’ve played enough singing bowls as a beginner and are ready to take it to the next level? Then this is the perfect bowl for you and at a crazy offer, it’s a crime to not buy it. The duo set of bowls sing beautifully and have 4.7 stars and over 500 global ratings.
Why do we like it?
Made with original brass, this Nepalese set of bowls comes with a pair of coordinating-colored cushions and a complimentary cloth bag. We love how the seller focuses on the portability of the bowls with their quality. The product comes with a one-year assurance too so you can buy it blindly.
What’s the best thing about it?
Because the one singing bowl is small and the other big, it completes the rituals by bringing harmony and resonance to the table. I found they’re great at the price of one for two and are perfect gifting pieces with good hammering marks.
What’s the worst thing about it?
While it’s great to get two singing bowls at the price of one, I was expecting two different mallets for the differently sized bowls. The free one looked good enough for the biggest bowl, so you got to find a smaller striker for the other one.
A heavy bowl that’s made with brass like most others on this list, I loved this bowl for its strong resonance. It works great for individual purposes like meditation and group therapies like aura cleansing. The product has 4.6 with 2,500 reviews.
Why do we like it?
What tempted me to try this one is the beautiful hand-sewn cushion that’s totally free and perfect for humid places owing to its anti-dampening qualities. We love it for the dual-sided mallet that comes from Nepal. I love the fact this product also comes with a one-year replacement policy.
What’s the best thing about it?
The best attraction of this Tibetan bowl for me is that it’s made by Tibetan monks. The great resonance makes it ideal for healing purposes too. If you’re feeling altruistic, you would find it pleasing that this seller regularly donates to charity.❤️
What’s the worst thing about it?
This singing bowl has no hand-hammering because it’s made on spun material so it looks less authentic or traditional.
A singing bowl is a sound instrument that emits frequencies that are healing. It can create resonance and harmony powerful enough to move water or energy in a system. The best thing is you can use a Tibetan singing bowl to cleanse and charge your crystals within a few minutes.
The healing frequencies of the bowl work on crystals like magic. However, keep in mind to avoid using abnormally huge crystals unless your bowl is big as well. Otherwise, crystal jewelry and tumbled stones are perfect for playing singing bowls.
Personally, I was smitten by the meditative energies of the singing bowls for a few days after getting my first one. When I went back to my crystal healing routines, I realized I could combine the two unique energies to create amplified energies.💡 Upon reading and talking with experts, I found that it’s easy to cleanse off bad energies from anything using a singing bowl.
That’s why it’s a great medium to cleanse your auras and chakras. Use a chakra stone and play the bowl to combine the sound and healing energies into one. If you’re feeling a chakra is blocked, place the bowl on the area and play it. Reiki works exceptionally amazing with Tibetan bowl sounds.
How to cleanse crystals with a singing bowl?🧐
All you need to do is place the crystal inside the bowl and play the bowl as you do by tapping, rubbing the rim, or using several bowls at once. For charging the crystal, the only difference is you should place the crystal inside and use something for manifestation such as affirmations or crystal wands.
Singing bowls are great for setting and activating crystal grids too. For folks who like crystal jewelry, the singing bowl can be an easy way to cleanse the jewelry at the end of the day after wearing it. I love waking up and winding the day down with a singing bowl in peace.
But that’s not the only way you can use Tibetan ritual bowls and healing crystals together. Just like crystals have a feng shui component, singing bowls do too. Their acoustic quality can cleanse and charge spaces easily.
Actually, you can take it a step ahead like I do if you’re keen on it. I love using singing bowl sounds for amplifying the energies when making my gem elixir (letting the water vibrate), while having a gem bath, doing reiki with chakra crystals, black obsidian scrying on a dark moon night, or finding answers with an amethyst pendulum.
Singing bowls aren’t a new trend. If you’re new to it, the above-detailed case study mightn’t include all your questions. That’s why I compiled a long list of questions usually beginners ask me to know about singing bowls:👩🏻🏫
From calming the mind and even muscles, singing bowls can alleviate pain in the joints and shoulders that can also accelerate circulation. If you have steady hands, it’s easy to play the singing bowl. But, trembles and shivers don’t go well with singing bowls.
If you’re planning to meditate with your singing bowl, metal bowls are great. But for chakra cleansing and charging, crystal bowls are much better. Moreover, crystal bowls are more difficult than metal to make and sit on a rubber ring than cloth-made cushions or flat surfaces. Moreover, crystal bowls aren’t as resonant as metal bowls.
When do you use your favorite crystal? I for one can’t start a day without my crystal and all my stones are my favorites. Since I came across singing bowls, I can’t start a day before playing one with my crystals. I charge my crystal with the bowl and chant my affirmations after waking up. The same goes for the night!
But, that’s just me and you can use it several times a day if you’re feeling up to it.
While you can play a singing bowl without water or crystal, most beginners try the resonance of the bowl by adding warm water up to half of the bowl. When you play it with water, the liquid becomes pearly drops in a bowl with strong resonance (typically big bowls).
Some of the Tibetan singing bowls are Thadobati, Jambati, Ultabati, Naga, Mani, Manipuri, Remuna, and Lingam. Find out what makes them unique in this definitive guide on Tibetan singing bowls. You can also get singing bowls based on different materials like brass, silver, copper, gold, tin, zinc, and crystal too.
Unlike machine-made bowls, the hand-hammerings on a bowl would be uneven and unique. On the other hand, machine-made bowls are perfect and flawless.
According to Dr. Mitchell L. Gaynor, sound vibrations can help in balancing the immune system using the resonance of Tibetan singing bowls. It can also aid in digestion, stress relief, healing injuries, improving blood circulation, and managing pain.
If you’re buying one online, you need to read the specs carefully and listen to audio and video reviews of the bowl before completing the order. When doing the singing bowl hunt offline, you can tap and rub the mallet a few times to get acquainted with sounds prior to paying up.
Singing bowls are acoustic instruments designed for meditation and other spiritual settings. To pick the best one, you should find out the characteristics such as bowl size, material, mallet traits, cushion quality, and singing quality. Once you’ve decided on the total number of bowls you need to check if the shortlisted bowl is handmade/machine-made too.
Checking user reviews and case studies about specific bowls is great because it helps you understand the pros and cons of each singing bowl, especially when vetted by experienced users as you read in this article.
Our 6 handpicked singing bowls were all high-quality bowls. We assessed two bowls of 3.5 inches diameter, one of 3.15, and 4 inches in the process. The authentic handmade singing bowl felt heavy while the singing bowl with herbs kit felt the lightest. Almost all of them came with a complimentary mallet and most of them were dual-sided too.
You can select singing bowls based on the purpose such as crystal charging, chakra cleansing, aura purification, reiki, and so on too. They’re great for individual rituals and group therapies once you get the right size.
Personally, a singing bowl session early in the morning gets me charged enough to seize the day. The best thing is I love cleansing and charging my crystals in these bowls too right when I wake up. It’s quick, easy, and powerful. If you have a lot of crystal jewelry, then these bowls are great to lift you up and your crystals too!😊
Tibetan singing bowls go so well with crystals because the sound is also a form of healing. Start with a small bowl or a singing bowl set with crystals to deep-dive into your spiritual journey.