Singing bowl.

How much would a singing bowl cost? I am planning on buying a crystal ball, but I might as well just buy a singing bowl if it isn't expensive.

[Belle]

That depends on how much you want to spend!! You can get them quite cheaply or you can spend a lot of money.

[skygazer]

I wouldn't bother with an inexpensive one, unless you were trying it out in person and it sounded good. I would say just under $100 would get you one that is a nice size and sounds proper.

[Ciona]

I bought my daughter's boyfriend a singing bowl for Christmas, for about $40.

If you buy online, definitely buy from websites that offer a sound sample for each bowl. Some have two samples, one for the "hitting" sound and one for the "rubbing" sound. These sites usually charge more, for the effort of recording each bowl, but at least you know for sure what you're getting. I suppose the $100 dollar rule is fine, but if you're like me and not big on gambling... Better to take the safest alternative. The cheap ones usually sound like **** and are purely decorative, unless you get them straight from nepal, then its pretty cheap.

Size does not matter, in the sense that you can get a louder/ deeper sound from a smaller bowl sometimes.

There are two types, crystal and tibetan bowls. Crystals are a processed quartz not a mineral crystal, and tibetan ones are some kind of alloy. Crystal wont corrode, but is more prone to impact damage.

They come is all the main tones, A-G# of different octaves, some a little bit flat and some a little bit sharp, and different notes are supposed to work with different chakras.

Two main ways to play them are by striking the bowl with a mallet, or running the mallet around the edge. Some bowls may "sing" 2-3 notes at the same time using the second method. These bowls cost more though. They also come in many shapes.

As for how to use them, they're normally played during meditation, to cleanse things, or put on the body over the chakra and played.

This is all the info i've gathered researching, but I'm not a pro or anything, I only own one small one if you youtube around you'll probably understand what I'm trying to say.

Just remember that most merchants have a vested interest in selling their stuff and may add bells and whistles you may not need (like trying to sell you a whole set, or a "special" frequency tone). They probably wont tell you a lie, but they might exaggerate how good some stuff are.

On that note though, singing bowls and crystal balls have different uses and work differently, so one does not replace another, though, in the end, these are all just tools and never really needed in the first place

Originally Posted by wanderlusterer

If you buy online, definitely buy from websites that offer a sound sample for each bowl. Some have two samples, one for the "hitting" sound and one for the "rubbing" sound. These sites usually charge more, for the effort of recording each bowl, but at least you know for sure what you're getting. I suppose the $100 dollar rule is fine, but if you're like me and not big on gambling... Better to take the safest alternative. The cheap ones usually sound like **** and are purely decorative, unless you get them straight from nepal, then its pretty cheap.

Size does not matter, in the sense that you can get a louder/ deeper sound from a smaller bowl sometimes.

There are two types, crystal and tibetan bowls. Crystals are a processed quartz not a mineral crystal, and tibetan ones are some kind of alloy. Crystal wont corrode, but is more prone to impact damage.

They come is all the main tones, A-G# of different octaves, some a little bit flat and some a little bit sharp, and different notes are supposed to work with different chakras.

Two main ways to play them are by striking the bowl with a mallet, or running the mallet around the edge. Some bowls may "sing" 2-3 notes at the same time using the second method. These bowls cost more though. They also come in many shapes.

As for how to use them, they're normally played during meditation, to cleanse things, or put on the body over the chakra and played.

This is all the info i've gathered researching, but I'm not a pro or anything, I only own one small one if you youtube around you'll probably understand what I'm trying to say.

Just remember that most merchants have a vested interest in selling their stuff and may add bells and whistles you may not need (like trying to sell you a whole set, or a "special" frequency tone). They probably wont tell you a lie, but they might exaggerate how good some stuff are.

On that note though, singing bowls and crystal balls have different uses and work differently, so one does not replace another, though, in the end, these are all just tools and never really needed in the first place

Wow, so much information, thanks , though I will probably buy one for like 20 euros if it's possible

[StrandedSnowMonkey]

Perhaps you may have a Buddhist centre nearby, where you can pick up a small bowl :)

Any price is fine. Just make sure to listen before you buy. After all, if your singing bowl cant sing... Might as well get a bowl from tesco or something

[FairyCrystal]

Just make sure the sounds is good, to your liking that is, and that it carries on for quite some time.
You can check on YouTube... real good ones will carry on for a few minutes... of course the sound will get softer.
The cheap ones are made from cheap alloys/copper, not tuned properly and the sound will fade within a minute or less even.

If you want to use it for yourself only, you won't necessarily need a large one. On my singing bowl class, a guy turned up with one he could barely carry, think some 40 cm diameter. Those can be great if you want to use them for workshops, because the sound will travel through a room quite well. The smaller ones aren't suited for workshops for that reason. People in the back won't feel or hear the sound properly.

Normal shops will usually ask quite a bit for singing bowls. My teacher, who runs a sound & shaman healing center, sells them as well, for real good prices. A lot cheaper than shops, and you know you get good ones. I've learnt that often the ugliest looking ones are the best sounding singing bowls.
My teacher had one that was made from iron (!) It was his own, his Soul singing bowl. It looked like chit but it sounded wonderful! The best singing bowl I've ever heard...
THey sold more old (looking) bowls, they usually were the best.
So don't let looks deceive you.