Singing bowl sounding harsh? Slow down

01The more you worry, the more you grip

The first time you hold a mallet, everyone fears one thing: the bowl will not sound.

When you are afraid, the hand squeezes. The shoulders rise. The mallet rushes.

I told her:

The more I worry, the more I tense up, and the less it sounds. Relax.

I even asked her, a bit bluntly: circling like this, “how is that different from a rice mill?”

The bowl does not need you to hurry. Sometimes it does not sound right away. That is fine.

02Move like slow motion

That day I did not add any theory. Just one sentence:

Move like slow motion.

In the clip, the sound changes with her hand. At first it is loud and harsh. As the hand slows down, the sound gets softer and steadier.

Only then did I say: “See? This is OK.”

At another moment in the class, I played the opposite on purpose:

One hard stroke and it rattles right away. See?

What I told her again: when the bowl suddenly shakes hard, go very slowly so the sound does not skip.

03While the bowl rings, the hand rests

Striking is the same. Some people hold the mallet ready, and as soon as the bowl sounds they want to strike again.

Don’t keep gripping that mallet all the time. Let go. Relax.

I told her to wait until the sound is down to about 30 to 40% before the next strike. I wrote more about how to wait in Singing bowls: when should you strike again?.

Here I want to say the other half: that wait is also when the person leading gets to rest their hand.

If you keep striking non-stop, you will get very tired.

A session is not just a few minutes. If the hand is tense from the start, it is tired before the session ends. While the bowl rings, I told her to relax, be still for a moment, and only then go on.

04Before you circle again, check three things

Bowl not sounding, or buzzing? Do not circle harder. Tap each box to see what I usually say.

05If you are the one standing beside them

When you teach singing bowls later, there will be times a learner circles and circles and it just will not sound.

Look at the clip again. I do not explain at length. I remind her of one thing, slow down, and remind her again when needed.

When someone is worried, one short sentence is easier to take in than a whole lecture.

If you are practising with a partner, read Singing bowls in pairs: feedback your partner can use — how to say clearly what you just heard, instead of only “nice”.

When the sound changes, I say it right away: “See?” A learner needs to know what “right” sounds like while it is still ringing.

Relax your hand first.